
Qass F 5 T2- 



\ 



iA\iKllir^JAxCjlJ^LA\NJi 





EXPLANATION 




1 


BATTLE GROUND 




2 


POSITION OF AMERICAN GUN 


3 


POSITION OP BRIT 1 SH 


GUM 


4 


PLACE OF BURIAL 




5 


PARADE GROUND 




6 


FORT MACKINAC 




7 


MISSION HOUSE 





ISLAND HOUSE 
MACKINAC HOUSE 
MP. LEOD HOUSE 

ARRIA&E ROAD 
or PATH 




Tj 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC ; ^"^'' 



COPIOUS EXTRACTS 



MARQUETTE, BEBEPIN, LA HOCTAN, CADILLAC, ALEXANDER HE.\RY, m OTHERS. 



" Beauteous Isle! I sing of thee, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac, 
Thy lake-bound shores 1 love to see, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 
From Arch Kock's bright and shelving steep 
To western clifl's and Lover's Leap, 
Where memories of the lost one sleep, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 

"Thy Northern shore trod British foe, 

JSlackinac, my Mackinac, 
That day saw gallant Holmes laid low, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 
Now Freedom's flag above thee waves, 
And guards the rest of fallen braves, 
Theil requiem sung by Huron's waves, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac." 



By rev J. A. VAN FLEET, M. A. 



ANN ARBOR, MICH. : 

COURIER STEAM FRINTING-HOUSE, 41 & 43 NORTH MAIN STREET. 
1S7O. 



J 






Entered according- to Act of Congress in the year 1870, by 

J. A. VAN FLEET, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan, 



? 



s"' //^^'^ 



PREFACE. 



In the preparation of this little volume, I have carefully exam- 
ined the following works : Holmes' American Annals, two volumes ; 
Robertson's History of America; Bancroft's United States; Bell's 
Canada, two volumes; Albach's Annals of the West; Lahnman's 
Michigan; Sheldon's Early Michigan; Historical and Scientific 
Sketches of Michigan; Neill's Minnesota; Smith's Wisconsin, three 
volumes; Wynne's General History of the British Empire; Rogers' 
Concise Account of North America; Dillon's Early Settlement of the 
North-Western Territory ; Heriot's Canada ; Parkman's Pontiac; 
Parkman's Discovery of the Great West; Schoolcraft's Works, com- 
plete; Documentary History of New York, complete; Palmer's His- 
torical Register, 1814; Shea's Discovery and Exploration of the 
Mississippi, — also, Catholic Missions; Hennepin; La Houtan, two 
volumes; Charlevoix, two volumes ; Alexander Henry; Carver; Dis- 
turnell; Newcomb's Cyclopedia of Missions; American Missions to 
the Heathen ; Geological Reports by Foster and Whitnej', and by 
Professor Winchell ; Thatcher's Indian Biography, two volumes; 
Strickland's Old Mackinaw; Drake's Northern Lakes and Southern 
Invalids, — also. Diseases of the Mississippi Vallev, by the same 
author. 

I am also greatly indebted to Messrs. Ambrose and William 
Davenport for a detailed account of the War of 1812 in its connection 
with this Island. These gentlemen were boys of from twelve to fifteen 
years of age at the time, and were eye-witnesses of all that passed. 
Their account agrees, in every important particular, with the official 
returns of Commodore Sinclair and Colonel Croghan, but is, ol 
course, much more minute. 



r'^- " 



IV PREFACE. 

Several other citizens of the place have likewise rendered valuable 
assistance in matters falling within the scope of their recollection. I 
also desire to acknowledge my obligation to Edgar Conkling, Esq., of 
Mackinaw City, for valuable notes and suggestions, and to H. R. 
Mills, M. D., of Fort Mackinac, and Rev. J. M. Arnold, of Detroit, for 
assistance in getting the work through the press. 

This book has been prepared to meet a want long felt and often 

expressed by the many who throng this Island in quest of health or 

pleasure during the summer. That it may accomplish this end, is the 

earnest wish of the author, 

J. A. V. 
Mackinac, July 4, 1870 



"^ 



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CLLVCLAND. 



^,**/iiflf/st:/7c M- 



CHAPTER I. 



JESUIT HISTORY. 

The first pale-faces who ventured into the region stretching 
around the great lakes, were Jesuit missionaries. Of these, 
the first who claim a notice here are the Fathers Charles 
Raymbault and Isaac Jogues. In 1641, these two men visited 
the Chippewas at the Sault and established a mission among 
them, but Raymbault soon after fell a victim to consumption, 
and the enterprise was abandoned. Desperate Indian wars, 
which soon followed, prevented any fuilher attempt to estab- 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



lish missions among the Indians around the lakes for nearly 
thirty years. 

In the spring of i66S, the illustrious Father, James Mar- 
quette, was ordered to repair to the Ottawa mission, as that 
around Lake Superior was then called. Arriving at the Sault, 
he planted his cabin at the foot of the rapids, on the American 
side, and began his work. In the following year he was joined 
by Father Dablon, Superior of the mission, and by their united 
exertions a church was soon built. This was the first perman- 
ent settlement made on the soil of Michigan. 

During that same year, Marquette repaired to Lapointe, 
near the western extremity of Lake Superior, leaving Dablon 
to continue the mission at the Sault. When he arrived at his 
new field of labor, he found several Indian villages, one of 
which was composed of Hurons, who, several years before, 
had dwelt, for a short time, on Mackinac Island. 

Previous to leaving the Sault, Marquette had heard vague 
reports of the " Great River," and had formed the design of 
one day exploring it and preaching the gospel to those far-off 
nations who dwelt upon its banks. That he might carry out 
this design, he obtained, while at Lapointe, an Illinois captive, 
and diligently studied the language, hoping that he would be 
permitted to visit that people in the following Fall. But in 
this he was doomed to disappointment. A war which broke 
out between the Sioux, and the Hurons and Ottawas, com- 
pelled the two last mentioned tribes to leave Lapointe and seek 
a new home. Marquette's lot was cast with the Hurons, who 
embarked in their frail canoes, descended the rapids of St. 
Mary's, and, " remembering the rich fisheries of Mackinac, 
resolved to return to that pebbly strand." Having fixed upon 
a place of abode, the missionary's first thought was the estab- 
lishment of a mission for the spiritual good of his savage fol- 
lowers. While making the necessary preparations for the 
erection of a chapel and the permanent founding of his colony, 
he dwelt on this island. 

The following extract is from a letter written by Marquette 



JESUIT HISTORY. 



in 1671, and published in the Relations des Jesuits of that 
year: 

" Michihmackinac is an island famous in these regions, of 
more than a league in diameter, and elevated in some places 
by such high cliffs as to be seen more than twelve leagues off. 
It is situated just in the strait forming the communication 
between Lakes Huron and Illinois (Michigan). It is the key, 
and, as it were, the gate, for all the tribes from the south, as 
the Sault is for those of the north, there being in this section 
of country only those two passages by water, for a great num- 
ber of nations have to go by one or other of these channels, in 
order to reach the French settle ments- 

" This presents a peculiarly favorable opportunity, both 
for instructing those who pass here, and also for obtaining easy 
access and conveyance to their places of abode. 

. " This place is the most noted in these regions for the 
abundance of its fisheries ; for, according to tlie Indian saying, 
' this is the home of the fishes.' Elsewhere, although they 
exist in large numbers, it is not properly their ' home,' which 
is in the neighboi'hood of Michilimackinac. 

" In fact, beside the fish common to all the other tribes, as 
the herring, carp, pike, gold-fish, white-fish, and sturgeon, 
there are found three varieties of the trout — one common ; the 
second of a larger size, three feet long and one foot thick ; the 
third monstrous, for we cannot otherwise describe it — it being 
so fat that the Indians, who have a peculiar relish for fats, can 
scarcely eat it. Besides, the supply is such that a single Indian 
will take forty or fifty of them through the ice, with a single 
spear, in three hours. 

" It is this attraction which has heretofore drawn to a 
point so advantageous the greater part of the savages in this 
country, driven away by fear of the Iroquois. The three 
tribes at present living on the Baye des Puans (Green Bay) 
as strangers, formerly dwelt on the main land near the middle 
of this island — some on the borders of Lake Illinois, others on 
the borders of Lake Huron. A part of them, called Sauteurs^ 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



had their abode on the main land at the west, and the others 
look upon this place as their country for passing the winter, 
when there are no fish at the Sault. The Hurons, called Eto- 
nontaikronnons, have lived for some years in the same island, 
to escape the Iroquois. Four villages of Ottawas had also 
their abode in this quarter. 

" It is worthy of notice that those who bore the name of 
the island, and called themselves Michilimackinac, were so 
numerous that some of the survivors yet living here assvire us 
that they once had thirty villages, all enclosed in a fortification 
of a league and a half in circuit, when the Iroquois came and 
defeated them, inflated by a victory they had gained over three 
thousand men of tiiat nation, who had carried their hostilities 
as far as the country of the Agnichronnons. 

" In one word, the quantity of fish, united with the excel- 
lence of the soil for Indian corn, has always been a powerful 
attraction to the tribes in these regions, of which the greater 
part subsist only on fish, but some on Indian corn. On this 
account many of these same tribes, perceiving that the peace 
is likely to be established with the Iroquois, have turned their 
attention to this point, so convenient for a return to their own 
country, and will follow the examples of those who have made 
a beginning on the islands of Lake Huron, which by this 
means will soon be peopled from one end to the other, an event 
highly desirable to facilitate the instniction of the Indian race, 
whom it would not be necessary to seek by journeys of two or 
three hundred leagues on these great lakes, with inconceivable 
danger and hardship. 

" In order to aid the execution of the design, signified to 
us by many of the savages, of taking up their abode at this 
point, where some have already passed the winter, hunting in 
the neighborhood, we ourselves have also wintered here, in 
order to make arrangements for establishing the mission of St. 
Ignace^ from whence it will be easy to have access to all the 
Indians of Lake Huron, when the several tribes shall have 
settled each on its own lands. 



JESUIT HISTORY. 



" With these advantages, the place has also its inconveni- 
ences, particularly for the French, who are not yet familiar, as 
are the savages, with the difterent kinds of fishery, in which 
the latter are trained from their birth ; the winds and the tides 
occasion no small embarrassment to the fishermen. 

" The winds : For this is the central poipt bet/veen t^ie 
three great lakes which surround it, and which seem inces- 
santly tossing ball at each other. For no sooner has the wind 
ceased blowing from Lake Michigan than Lake Huron hurls 
back the gale it has received, and Lake Superior in its turn 
sends forth its blasts from another quarter, and thus the game 
is played from one to the other ; and as these lakes are of vast 
extent, the winds cannot be otherwise than boisterous, espe- 
cially during the autumn." 

From this letter we conclude that Marquette must have 
come to Michilimackinac in 1670, as he spent a winter here 
before the establishment of his mission. Point Iroquois, on 
the north side. of the Straits, was selected as the most suitable 
place for the proposed mission, and there, in 1671, a rude and 
unshapely chapel, its sides of logs and its roof of bark, was 
raised as " the first sylvan shrine of Catholicity," at Mackinaw. 
This primitive temple was as simple as the faith taught by the 
devoted missionary, and had nothing to impress the senses, 
nothing to win by a dazzling exterior the wayward children of 
the forest. The new mission was called St. Ignatius, in honor 
of the founder of the Jesuit order, and to this day the name is 
perpetuated in the point upon which the mission stood. 

During the summer of 1671 an event occurred of no com- 
mon interest and importance in the annals of French history 
in America, but which, after all, was not destined to exert any 
lasting influence. Mutual interests had long conspired to unite 
the Algonquins of the west and the French in confirmed 
friendship. The Algonquins desired commerce and protection ; 
the French, while thev coveted the rich furs which these tribes 
brought them, coveted also an extension of political power to 
the utmost limits of the western wilderness. Hence, Nicholas 



lO OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Perrot had been commissioned as the agent of the French gov- 
ernment, to call a general Congress of the lake tribes at the 
Falls of St. Mary. The invitations of this enthusiastic agent 
of the Bourbon dynasty reached the tribes of Lake Superior, 
and were carried even to the wandering hordes of the remotest 
north. Nor were the nations of the south neglected. Obtain- 
ing an escort of Potawatomies at Green Bay, Perrot, the first 
of Europeans to visit that place, repaired to the Miamis at 
Chicago, on the same mission of friendship. 

In May the day appointed for the unwonted spectacle of 
the Congress of Nations arrived. St. Lusson was the French 
official, and Allouez his interpreter. From the head waters of 
the St. Lawrence, from the Mississippi, from the Great Lakes, 
and even from the Red River, envoys of the wild republicans 
of the wildei-ness were present. And brilliantly clad officers 
from the veteran armies of France, with here and there a 
Jesuit missionary, completed the vast assembly. A cross was 
set up, a cedar post marked with the French lilies, and the 
I'epresentatives of the wilderness tribes were informed that they 
were under the protection of the French king. Thus, in the 
presence of the ancient races of America, were the authority 
and the faith of France uplifted in the very heart of our Con- 
tinent. But the Congress proved only an echo soon to die 
awa}^, and left no abiding monument to mark its glory. 

Marquette has left no details of his first year's labor in his 
new mission, but during the second year he wrote the following 
letter to Father Dablon. This letter has been published from 
the manuscript, by John G. Shea, in his " Discovery and Ex- 
ploration of the Mississippi," and to him we are indebted 
for it : 

" Rev. Father, — The Hurons, called Tionnontateron- 
nons or Petun nation, who compose the mission of St. Ignatius 
at Michilimackinong, began last year near the chapel a fort 
enclosing all their cabins. They have come regularly to 
prayers, and have listened more readily to the instructions I gave 
them, consenting to what I required to prevent their disorders 



JESUIT HISTORY. II 



and abominable customs. We must have patience with un- 
tutored minds, who know only the devil, who, like their ances- 
tors, have been his slaves, and who often relapse into the sins 
in which they were nurtured. God alone can fix these fickle 
minds, and place and keep them in his grace, and touch their 
hearts while we stammer at their ears. 

" The Tionnontateronnons number this year three hundred 
and eighty souls, and besides sixty Outaouasinagaux have joined 
them. Some of these came from the mission of St. Francis 
Xavier, where Father Andre wintered with them last year; 
they are quite changed from what I saw them at Lapointe ; the 
zeal and patience of that missionary have gained to the faith 
those hearts which seemed to us most averse to it. They now 
wish to be Christians ; they bring their children to the chapel 
to be baptized, and come regularly to prayers. 

" Having been obliged to go to St. Marie du Sault with 
Father AUouez last summer, the Hurons came to the chapel 
during my absence as regularly as if I had been there, the girls 
singing what prayers they knew. They counted the days of 
my absence, and constantly asked when I was to be back. I 
was absent only fourteen days, and on my arrival all assembled 
at chapel, some coming even from their fields, which are at a 
very considerable distance. 

" I went readily to their pumpkin feast, where I instructed 
them, and invited them to thank God, who gave them food in 
plenty, while other tribes that had not yet embraced Christian- 
ity were actually struggling with fiimine. I ridiculed dreams, 
and urged those who had been baptized to acknowledge Him 
whose adopted children they were. Those who gave the feast, 
though still idolaters, spoke in high terms of Christianity, and 
openly made the sign of the cross before all present. Some 
young men, whom they had'tried by ridicule to prevent from 
doing it, persevered, and make the sign of the cross in the 
gi-eatest assemblies, even when I am not present. 

" An Indian of distinction among the Hurons, having in- 
vited me to a feast where the chiefs were, called them severally 



12 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



by name, and told them that he wished to declare his thoughts, 
that all might know it, namely, that he was a Christian ; that 
he renounced the god of dreams and all their lewd dances ; 
that the black-gown was master of his cabin ; and that for 
nothing that might happen would he forsake his resolution. 
Delighted to hear this, I spoke more strongly than I had ever 
yet done, telling them that my only design was to put them in 
the way of heaven ; that for this alone I remained among 
them ; that this obliged me to assist them at the peril of my 
life. As soon as anything is said in an assembly, it is immedi- 
ately divulged through all the cabins, as I saw in this case by 
the assiduity of some in coming to prayers, and by the mali- 
cious efforts of others to neutralize my instructions. 

" Severe as the winter is, it does not prevent the Indians 
from coming to the chapel. Some come twice a day, be the 
wind or cold what it may. Last fall I began to instruct some 
to make general confessions of their whole life, and to prepare 
others who had never confessed since their baptism. I would 
not have supposed that Indians could have given so exact an 
account of all that had happened in the course of their life ; 
but it was seriously done, as some took two weeks to examine 
themselves. Since then I have perceived a marked change, so 
that they will not go even to ordinary feasts without asking my 
permission. 

" I have this year baptized twenty-eight children, one of 
which had been brought from Ste. Marie du Sault, without 
having received that sacrament, as the Rev. F. Henry Nouvel 
informed me, to put me on my guard. Without my knowing 
it, the child fell sick, but God permitted that while instructing 
in my cabin two important and sensible Indians, one asked me 
whether such a sick child was baptized. I went at once, bap- 
tized it, and it died the next night. Some of the other children 
too, are dead, and now in heaven. These are the consolations 
which God sends us, which make us esteem our life more 
happy as it is more wretched. 

" This, Father, is all I have to give about this mission ; 



JESUIT HISTORY. I3 



where minds are now more mild, tractable, and better disposed 
to receive instruction, than in any other part. I am ready, 
however, to leave it in the hands of another missionary to go 
on your order to seek new nations toward the south sea who 
are still unknown to us, and to teach them of our great God, 
whom they have hitherto unknown." 

While Marquette was thus engaged in the labors of his 
mission, his project for discovering and exploring the Missis- 
sippi had attracted the attention of the French government, 
and through the influence of M. Talon, the intendant, a reso- 
lution had been formed to act in the matter at once. It is 
worthy of remark that the French, supposing that the Mississippi 
might empty into the Gulf of California, hoped in discovering 
that river to find also a short passage across the continent to 
China. Having once formed the resolution to go in search of 
the Great River, they were not long in making all needful prep- 
aration for putting it into execution. 

Sieur Joliet was designated as the agent of the French 
government to carry out the design, and Marquette was to 
accompany him. But little is known of Joliet except in his 
connection with this one enterprise, which alone is sufficient to 
immortalize his name. The following extract is taken from 
Shea's " Discovery and Exploration of the Tvlississippi Valley." 
It is from the pen of Father Dablon, and will give sufficient 
information concerning him to serve the present purpose : 

" They were not mistaken in their choice of the Sieur Jo- 
liet, for he was a young man, born in this country, and endowed 
with every quality that could be desired in such an enterprise. 
He possessed experience, and a knowledge of the languages of 
the Ottawa country, where he had spent several years ; he had 
the tact and prudence so necessary for the success of a voyage 
equally dangerous and difficult ; and, lastly, he had courage to 
fear nothing where all is to be feared. He accordingly fulfilled 
the expectations entertained of him, and if, after having passed 
through dangers of a thousand kinds, he had not unfortunately 
been wrecked in the very harbor — his canoe having upset below 



14 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the Saut St. Louis, near Montreal, where he lost his men and 
papers, and only escaped, by a kind of miracle, with his life — 
the success of his voyage had left nothing to be desired." 

When the Ottawa flotilla of 1672 brought back from 
Qiiebec the news that his long cherished desire was about to 
be gratified, Marquette exulted at the prospect before him. It 
involved danger and hardship ; the way was blocked up by 
hostile Indian tribes, and his health was already impaired by 
the trials and privations which had fallen to his lot, but no con- 
sideration of pei'sonal safety could deter him from his purpose. 
He even gloried in the prospect of martyrdom. 

Joliet, at length, arrived at the mission, and together they 
spent the winter in making the necessary arrangements for the 
voyage. The following quotation is from Marquette's own 
narrative, as published by Shea : 

" The day of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed 
Virgin, whom I had always invoked since I have been in this 
Ottawa country, to obtain of God the grace to be able to visit 
the nations on the river Mississippi, was identically that on 
which M. Joliet arrived with orders of the Comte de Frontenac, 
our governor, and M. Talon, our intendant, to make this dis- 
covery with me. I was the more enraptured at this good news, 
as I saw my designs on the point of being accomplished, and 
myself in the happy necessity of exposing my life for the salva- 
tion of all these nations, and particularly for the Illinois, who 
had, when I was at Lapointe du St. Esprit, very earnestly en- 
treated me to carry the word of God to their country. 

" We were not long in preparing our outfit, although we 
w^ere embarking on a voyage the duration of which we could 
not foresee. Indian corn, with some dried meat, was our whole 
stock of provisions. With this we set out in two bark canoes, 
M. Joliet, myself, and five men, firmly resolved to do all and 
suffer all, for so glorious an enterprise. 

" It was on the 17th of May, 1673, that we started from 
the mission of St. Ignatius, at Michilimackinac, where I then 
was. Our joy at being chosen for this expedition roused our 



JESUIT HISTORY. 15 



courage, and sweetened the labor of rowing from morning till 
night. As we were going to seek unknown countries, we took 
all possible precautions, that, if our enterprise was hazardous, 
it should not be foolhardy. For this reason we gathered all 
possible information from Indians who had frequented those 
parts, and even from their accounts traced a map of all the new 
country, marking down the rivers on which we were to sail, 
the names of the nations and places through which we were to 
pass, the course of the great river, and what direction we 
should take when we got to it. 

" Above all, I put our voyage under the protection of the 
Blessed Virgin Immaculate, promising her, that if she did us 
the grace to discover the great river, I would give it the name 
of Conception ; and that I would also give that name to the 
first mission which I should establish among tliese new nations, 
as I have actually done among the Illinois. 

" With all these precautions, we made our paddles play 
merrily over a part of Lake Huron, and that of the Illinois, 
into the Bay of the Fetid (Green Bay) . The first nation that we 
met was that of the Wild Oats, (English, wild rice). I en- 
tered their river (Menomonie) to visit them, as we have 
preached the gospel to these tribes for some years past, so that 
thei"e are many good Christians among them. 

" I informed these j^eople of the Wild Oats of my design 
of going to discover distant nations to instruct them in the mys- 
teries of our Holy Religion ; they were very much surprised, 
and did their best to dissuade me. They told me that I would 
meet nations that never spare strangei's, but tomahawk them 
without any provocation ; that the war which had broken out 
among various nations on our route, exposed us to another evi- 
dent danger — that of being killed by the war-parties wdiich are 
constantly in the field ; that the Great River is very dangerous, 
unless the difficult parts are known ; that it was full of fright- 
ful monsters, who swallowed up men and canoes together ; 
that there is even a demon there who can be heard from afar, 
who stops the passage and engulfs all who dare approach ; 



j6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



lastly, that the heat is so excessive in those countries that it 
would infallibly cause our death. 

" I thanked them for their kind advice, but assured them 
that I could not follow it, as the salvation of souls was con- 
cerned ; that for them I should be too happy to lay down my life ; 
that I made light of their pretended demon ; that we would 
defend ourselves well enough against the river-monsters ; and, 
besides, we should be on our guard to avoid the other dangers 
with which they threatened us." 

Space will not permit us to describe the journey of the 
adventurers in detail. We can only say that they proceeded to 
the head of Green Bay, entered Fox River, which they 
ascended to the portage, crossed over to the Wisconsin, and on 
the 17th day of June, feeling a joy that could not be expressed, 
entered the Mississippi. From the Wisconsin they descended 
to the Arkansas, whence they returned, satisfied that the Father 
of Rivers went not to the ocean east of Florida, nor yet to the 
Gulf of California. Arriving at the mouth of the Illinois, they 
entered that river, by which route they reached Lake Michigan 
at Chicago, and, coasting along the western shore of that lake, 
arrived at Green Bay before the end of September. 

Here Joliet took his leave of Marquette and returned to 
Qiiebec, while Marquette remained at the mission to recruit 
his failing health before again entering upon his missionary 
labors. On his I'eturn, he had promised a tribe of the Illinois 
Indians that he would soon establish a mission among them, 
and this fact he doubtless communicated to his superiors at 
Montreal by the Ottawa flotilla of the following year. The 
return of the fleet of canoes brought him the necessary order, 
and on the 25th of October, 1674, he set out to establish his 
long projected Illinois mission. His former malady — dysen- 
tery — however, returned, and he was compelled, with his two 
companions, to winter on the Chicago River. In the spring 
of 1675 he was able to complete his journey and begin his 
mission, but a renewed and more vigorous attack of disease 
soon satisfied him that his labors on earth were nearly done. 



JESUIT HISTORY. 1 7 



He could not die, however, without again visiting his beloved 
mission at Mackinac and bowing in the chapel of St. Ignatius ; 
he tlierefore set out, hoping that his foiling strength would per- 
mit him to accomplish the journey. As he coasted along the 
eastern shore of Lake Michigan, his strength gradually failed, 
and he was at last so weak that he could no longer help him- 
self, but had to be lifted in and out of his canoe when they 
landed each night. At last, perceiving the mouth of a river, 
he pointed to an eminence near by, and told his companions 
that it was the place 'of his last repose. They wished, how- 
ever, to pass on, as the weather was fine and the day not far 
advanced, but a wind soon arose which compelled them to 
return and enter the river pointed out by the dying missionary. 
They carried him .ashore, erected a little bark cabin, kindled a 
fire, and made him as comfortable as they could. Having 
heard the confessions of his companions, and encouraged them 
to rely with confidence on the protection of God, Marquette 
now sent them away, to take the repose they so much needed. 

Two or three hours afterward he felt his end approaching, 
and summoned his companions to his side. Taking his crucifix 
from around his neck, and placing it in their hands, he pro- 
nounced in a firm voice, his profession of faith, and thanked 
the Almighty for the favor of permitting him to die a Jesuit, a 
missionary, and alone. Then, his face all radiant with joy, 
and his eyes raised, as if in ecstasy, above his crucifix, with the 
words "Jesus" and "Mary" upon his lips, he passed from the 
scene of his labors to his rest in heaven. After the first out- 
bursts of grief were over, his companions arranged his body 
for burial, and, to the sound of his little chapel bell, bore it 
slowly to the spot which he himself had designated, where 
they committed it to the earth, raising a large cross to mark his 
last resting place. This occurred on the iSth day of May, 
1675, in the thirty-eighth year of his ?ge. 

Two years later, and almost on the anniversary of this 
event, a party of Indians whom Marquette had himself in- 
structed at Lapointe, visited his grave, on their return from 



l8 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



their winter hunting grounds, and resolved to disinter their 
good Father and bear his revered bones to the mission of St. 
Ignatius, at Mackinac, where they resided. They therefore 
opened the grave, and, according to custom, dissected the body, 
washing the bones and drying them in the sun. When thi3 
was done, a neat box of birch bark was prepared, into which 
the bones were placed, and the flotilla, now become a funeral 
convoy, proceeded on its way. Only the dip of the paddles 
and the sighs of the Indians broke the silence, as the funeral 
cortege advanced. When nearing Mackinac, the missionaries, 
accompanied by many of the Indians of the place, went to 
meet them, and there, upon the waters, rose the " De Profun- 
dis," which continued till the coffined remains of the good 
Father reached the land. With the usuaI ceremonies his 
bones were then borne to the church, wliere, beneath a pall 
stretched as if over a coffin, they remained during the day, 
when they were deposited in a little vault in the middle of the 
church, " where," says the chronicler, '' he still reposes as the 
guardian angel of our Ottawa mission." Thus did Marquette 
accomplish, in death, the voyage which life had not enabled 
him to terminate. 

In the life of this humble and impretending missionary 
and explorer there is much to admire. Though an heir to 
wealth and position in his native land, he voluntarily separated 
himself from his friends, and chose a life of sacrifice, toil, and 
death, that he might ameliorate the moral and spiritual con- 
dition of nations sunk in paganism and vice. His disposition 
was cheerful vinder all circumstances. His rare qualities of 
mind and heart secured for him the esteem of all who knew 
him. He was a man of sound sense and close observation, 
not disposed to exaggerate, not egotistical. His motives were 
pure and his efforts earnest. His intellectual abilities must 
have been of no ordinary type ; his letters show him to have 
been a man of education, and though but nine years a mission- 
ary among the Indians, he spoke six languages with ease, and 
understood less perfectly many others. 



JESUIT HISTORY. 1 9 



With Marquette religion was the controling idea. The 
salvation of a soul was more than the conquest of an empire. 
He was careful to avoid all appearance of a worldly or national 
mission among the savages. On many a hillside and in many 
a shady vale did he set up the cross, but nowhere did he carve 
the " Lilies of the Bourbons." His devotion to the " Blessed 
Virgin " was tender and all-absorbing. From early youth to 
his latest breath she was the constant object of his adoration ; 
no letter ever came from his hand which did not contain the 
words " Blessed Virgin Immaculate," and it was with her 
name upon his lips that he closed his eyes in death, as gently 
as though sinking into a quiet slumber. 

Marquette was a Catholic, yet he is not the exclusive 
property of that people : he belongs alike to all. His name is 
written in the hearts of the good of every class. As an ex- 
plorer he will live in the annals of the American people 
forever. 

♦' He died young, but there are silvered heads 
Whose race of duty is less nobly run." 

The history of the mission of St. Ignace after its founder 
embarked on that voyage which immortalized his name, may 
be told in few words. ISIarquette was succeeded by Father 
Pierson, who, in I'jS^, found it necessary to erect a new and 
more commodious church, as a large band of Ottawas had 
settled near. In the spring of 1677, prior to the transfer of 
Marquette's remains to the mission. Father Nouvel arrived and 
took charge of the Ottawa portion of the mission, leaving the 
Hurons to Father Pierson. In the following year the mission 
was again consolidated, and Father Enjalran appointed mission- 
ary. This Father continued at the mission for several years, 
but after him we know little of its history. In 1706, the mis- 
sionaries becoming disheartened, burned down their college 
and chapel, and returned to Quebec. 



20 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER IL 



FRENCH HISTORY. 

Prior to 1679 little had been done toward exploring and 
colonizing the great Northwest, save by the humble disciples 
of Ignatius Loyola, but at that date commercial enterprise en- 
tered the field, and the missionary spirit took a subordinate 
place in the onward march of civilization. 

When Joliet returned from his voyage down the Missis- 
sippi, the young, energetic and adventurous Robert Cavalier de 
la Salle, then lord of Fort Frontenac, had already planned an 
expedition across the Great Lakes to the shores of the Pacific, 
hoping thereby to find a short passage to China. 

The news of the brilliant discoveries made by Marquette 
and Joliet kindled the sanguinary mind of this young enthu- 
siast, and induced him to redouble his exertions to carry out 
his design. With plans for the colonization of the Southwest, 
and commerce between Europe and the Mississippi, La Salle 
now visited M. de Frontenac, Governor General of Canada, 
and laid before him the dim, but gigantic, outlines of his pro- 
ject. He aimed at the extension of French power by the con- 
struction of a chain of fortifications at the most prominent 
points along the lakes and rivers of the West. Frontenac en- 
tered warmly into La Salle's plans, and advised him to apply 
directly to the King of France. This he accordingly did, and 
meeting with favor at the French Court, he obtained a com- 
mission for perfecting the discovery of the " Great River," 
dated May 12th, 1678, and signed by Colbert, and also the 
monopoly of the traffic in buffalo skins. He was, however, 
forbidden to cany on trade with the Ottawas and other tribes 



FRENCH HISTORY. 21 



of the lakes, who were accustomed to carry their furs to Mon- 
treal. On his return to Qiiebec, he found Father Louis Hen- 
nepin, a friar of the Franciscan order, " daring, vain and 
determined," says Lahnman, " ambitious to reap the glory of 
discovery, and not too scrupulous as to the means," who had 
been appointed by his superiors as acting missionary to accom- 
pany the expedition. 

Though beset by difficulties on every hand which would 
have appeared formidable to any man of moderate soul. La 
Salle now pushed forwa-rd with the utmost dispatch. Late in 
November he left Fort Frontenac, navigated Ontario in a little 
vessel of ten tons, and, having pushed as near to the Falls as 
could be done with safety, disembarked. Here the provisions, 
anchors, chains, merchandise, &c., must be carried beyond the 
cataract to the calm water above, a distance of at least twelve 
miles. Liipeded by deep snows, gloomy foi-ests and rugged 
heights, this task was not finished until the 22d day of January. 
During the remainder of the winter and the early part of 
the succeeding summer, a vessel of sixty tons burden, called 
the Griffin, was constructed, and other preparations pei'fected, 
for the prosecution of the enterprise. On the 7th day of 
August, 1679, amid the firing of cannon and the chanting of 
the Te Deum, the sails were unfurled, and the little vessel ven- 
tured out upon Lake Erie. In all, there were thirty-four men 
on board, mostly fur traders for the valley of the Mississippi. 
Among them was Hennepin, the journalist of the expedition, 
and two other monks who had joined them at the mouth of 
the Cayuga, where the Griffin was built. 

For three days she boldly held her course over these 
unknown waters, where sail had never been seen before, and 
then turned to the northward " between the verdant isles of 
the majestic Detroit." Here, on either hand, was spread out 
the finest scenery that had ever delighted the Frenchman's eye. 
Verdant prairies, dotted with groves and bordered with lofty 
forests of walnut, chestnut, wild plum, and oak, festooned with 
grape vines, stretched away as far as the eye could reach. 



22 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Hennepin wondered that nature, without the help of art, could 
have made so charming a pros^oect. Herds of deer and flocks 
of swan and wild turkeys were plentiful. The bears and 
other beasts and bii'ds whose names were unknown, were, 
in the language of the missionary, " extraordinary relishing." 

This was twenty years before the settlement of Detroit. 
Passing on up the river, they entei^ed the lake which they 
named St. Clair, from the day on which they traversed its 
shallow waters, and, at length, Lake Huron lay before them, 
like a vast sea, sparkling in the sun. Here again they chanted 
a Te Deum, as a thank-oftering to the Almighty for the pros- 
perity that had attended them. 

The gentle breezes which now swelled the canvas of the 
Griffin seemed to whisper of a quick and prosperous voyage 
to the head waters of the Huron, but soon the wind died away 
to a calm, then freshened to a gale, then rose to a furious tem- 
pest. The elements were at war. The raging lake threatened 
in her wrath to swallow the little vessel and all her crew. 
Even the stout heart of La Salle was made to quake with fear, 
and he called upon all to commend themselves to Heaven. 
Save the godless pilot, who was loud in his anathemas against 
his commander " for having brought him, after the honor he 
had won on the ocean, to drown, at last, ignominiously, in 
fresh water," all clamored to the saints. With the same breath 
La Salle and the missionary declared St. Anthony the patron 
of the expedition, and a score of others promised that a chapel 
should be built in his honor if he would but save them from 
their jeopardy. But the obedient winds were tamed by a 
greater than St. Anthony, and the Griffin " plunged on her way 
through foaming surges that still grew calmer as she advanced." 
Woody Bois Blanc soon lifts the top of her pristine forests to 
the view of the anxious mariners. In the dim distance are the 
Manitoulines. Farther on, " sitting like an emerald gem in 
the clear, pellucid wave, is the rock-girt, fairy Isle " of Mack- 
inac. St. Ignace, the scene of Marquette's missionary labors, 
and the site of that chapel beneath which repose his peaceful 



FRENCH HISTORY. 2^ 



ashes, is before them, and Pequodenong, where as yet the 
smoke of the calumet of peace has always ascended and the 
shrill war-whoop has never been heard, rises gradually and 
majestically from the crystal waters which cover but cannot 
conceal the pebbly depths beneath. It was a grand and im- 
posing scene that lay spread out before them. 

The following is from Hennepin : " The 27th, in the 
morning, we continued our course northwest, with a southeast 
wind, ^yhich carried us the same day to Michilimackinac, 
where we anchored in a bay at six fathom water, upon a shiny 
white bottom. That bay is sheltered by the coast and a bank 
lying from the southwest to the north ; but it lies exposed to 
the south winds, which are very violent in that country. 

" Michilimackinac is a neck of land to the north of the 
mouth of the strait through which the Lake of the Illinois dis- 
charges itself into the Lake Huron. That canal is about three 

leagues long and one broad. 

******* 

" We lay between two different nations of savages ; those 
who inhabit the Point of Michilimackinac are called Hurons, 
and the others, who are about three or four leagues more north- 
ward, are Ottawas. Those savages wei'e equally surprised to 
see a ship in their country ; and the noise of our cannon, of 
which we made a general discharge, filled them with great 
astonishment. We went to see the Ottawas, and celebrated 
mass in their habitation. M. La Salle was finely dressed, 
having a scarlet cloak with a broad gold lace, and most of his 
men, with their arms, attended him. The chief captains of 
that people received us with great civilities after their own 
way, and some of them came on board with us, to see our 
ship, which rode all that while in the bay or creek I have 
spoken of. It was a diverting prospect to see every day above 
six score canoes about it, and the savages staring and admiring 
that fine wooden conoe, as they called it. They brought us 
abundance of whitings, and some trouts of fifty or sixty pound 
weigfht. 



24 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" We went the next day to pay a visit to the Hurons, who 
inhabit a rising ground on a neck of land over against Michili- 
mackinac. Tlieir- villages are fortified with jDalisades of 
twenty-five feet high, and always situated upon eminences or 
hills. They received us with more respect than the Ottawas, 
for they made a triple discharge of all the small guns they had, 
having learned from some Europeans that it is the greatest 
civility among us. However, they took such a jealousy to our 
ship that, as we understood since, they endeavored to make ouv 
expedition odious to all the nations about them. 

" The Hurons and Ottawas are in confederacy together 
against the Iroquois, their common enemy. They sow Indian 
corn, which is their ordinary food ; for they have nothing else to 
live upon, except some fish they take in the lakes. They boil 
it with their sagamittee, which is a kind of broth made with 
water and the flour of the corn, which they beat in a mortar, 
made of the trunk of a tree, which they make hollow with 
fire." 

La Salle remained at Mackinac until the second day of 
September, when he set sail for Green Bay. At this point, 
contrary to orders, he collected a cai"go of furs, with which he 
dispatched the Griftin to Niagara, while he himself, with a part 
of his men, repaii^ed in bark canoes to the head of Lake Mich- 
igan. Here he anxiously awaited the return of his little vessel, 
but alas ! he waited in vain. No tidings ever reached him of 
the ill-fated bark, and to this day none can tell whether she was 
swallowed in the depths of the lake, destroyed by Indians, or 
made the prize of traitors. 

The loss of the Griffin was a very severe stroke upon La 
Salle, yet he was not discouraged. With inflexible energy, he 
pursued his course. From Lake Michigan he proceeded into 
the country of the Illinois, where he wintered. Early in the 
following spring he dispatched Hennepin to discover the sources 
of the Mississippi, while he himself returned to Canada for new 
supplies, made necessary by the loss of the Griflin. In 1681 
he returned, and in 1682, having constructed a vessel of a size. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 25 



suitable for the purpose, he descended the Mississippi to the 
Gulf. 

Having completed the exploration of the Great River, his 
next step was to plant colonies along its banks, for w^hich pur- 
pose he labored, but with only partial success, until 16S7, when 
he was assassinated by one of his own men. 

Some modern writers have stated that the first fort at 
Mackinac, which at that time meant little more than a trading 
house surrounded by a stockade, was built by La Salle in 1679, 
but the fact that Hennepin makes no mention of this, and that 
La Salle was prohibited from trading with the Indians of this 
region, would seem to be sufficient proof to the contrary. Be- 
sides, if we may take the testimony of Holmes' American 
Annals, this fort or trading post was first established in 1673. 

Of the early history of this post, subsequent to the date of 
La Salle's visit, we have only such information as may be 
gathered from the notices of travelers and others whose 
writings have come down to us. 

In 1688 the Baron La Houtan, an oflScer of rare accom- 
plishments, visited this post, and from him we have the fol- 
lowing : 

" At last, finding that my provisions were almost out, I 
resolved to go to Michilimackinac, to buy up corn from the 
Hurons and Ottawas, ***** * * 

* * * * I arrived at this place on the iSth of 

April, and my uneasiness and trouble took date from the day 
of my arrival : for I found the Indian corn so scarce by reason 
of the preceding bad harvests, that I despaired of finding half 
so much as I wanted. But, after all, I am hopeful that two 
villages will furnish me with almost as much as I have occasion 
for. Mr. Cavalier arrived here, May 6th, being accompanied 
with his nephew, Father Anastase the Recollect, a pilot, one of 
the savages, and some few Frenchmen, which made a sort of a 
party-colored retinue. These Frenchmen were some of those 
that Mr. de la Salle had conducted upon the discovery of Mis- 
sissippi. They give out that they are sent to Canada, in order 



26 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



to go to France, with some dispatches from Mr. de la Salle to 
•the King ; but we suspect that he is dead, because he does not 
return along with them. I shall not spend time in taking notice 
of their great journey overland ; which, by the account they 
give, cannot be less than eight hundred leagues. 

" Michilimackinac, the place I am now in, is certainly a 
place of great importance. It lies in the latitude of forty-five 
degrees and thirty minutes. It is not above half a league dis- 
tant from the lUinese Lake, an account of w^hich, and, indeed, 
of all the other lakes, you may expect elsewhere. Here the 
Hurons and Ottawas have, each of them, a village ; the one 
being severed from the other by a single palisade ; but the Ot- 
tawas are beginning to build a fort upon a hill that stands ten 
or twelve hundred paces off. This precaution they were 
prompted to by the murder of a certain Huron, called Sanda- 
ouires, who was assassinated in the Saginaw River by four 
young Ottawas. In this place the Jesuits have a little house or 
college, adjoining to a sort of a church, and inclosed with poles 
that separate it from the village of the Hurons. These good 
Fathers lavish away all their divinity and patience, to no pur- 
pose, in converting such ignorant infidels ; for all the length 
they can bring them to, is, that oftentimes they will desire bap- 
tism for their dj'ing children, and some few superannuated 
persons consent to receive the sacrament of baptism when they 
find themselves at the point of death. The Coureurs de bois 
have but a very small settlement here ; though at the same 
time it is not inconsiderable, as being the staple of all the goods 
that they truck with the south and the west savages ; for they 
cannot avoid passing this way, when they go to the seats of the 
Illinese, and the Oumamis, or to the Bay des Fuans, and to the 
River of Mississippi. The skins, which they import from 
these different places, must lie here some time before they are 
transported to the colony. Michilimackinac is situated very 
advantageously ; for the Iroquese dare not venture, with their 
sorry canoes, to cross the strait of the Illinese Lake, which is 
two leagues over ; besides that the Lake of the Hurons is too 



FRENCH HISTORY. 2*] 



rough for such slender boats ; and as they cannot come to it by 
water, so they cannot approach to it by land, by reason of the 
marshes, fens, and little rivers, which it would be very difficult 
to cross ; not to mention that the strait of the Illinese Lake lies 
still in their way." 

We are also indebted to La Houtan for a map showing 
the location of the Jesuit establishment, and also of the French 
and Lidian villages as they existed in i6SS. 

In 1695 M. de la Motte Cadillac, afterwards the founder 
of Detroit, commanded at this post. He thus describes the 
place at the time : 

" It is very important that you should know, in case you 
are not already informed, that this village is one of the largest 
in all Canada. There is a fine fort of pickets, and sixty houses, 
that form a street in a straight line. There is a garrison of 
well disciplined, chosen soldiers, consisting of about two hun- 
dred men, the best formed and most athletic to be found 
in this New World ; besides many other persons who are resi- 
dents here during two or three months in the year. * * * 
The houses are arranged along the shore of this great Lake 
Hui-on, and fish and smoked meat constitute the principal food 
of the inhabitants. 

" The villages of the savages, in which there are six or 
seven thousand souls, are about a pistol-shot distant from ours. 
All the lands are cleared for about three leagues around their 
village, and perfectly well cultivated. They produce a suffi- 
cient quantity of Indian corn for the use of both the French 
and savage inhabitants." 

In 1699, Cadillac, perceiving the importance of a fort on 
the Detroit, repaired to France to present the subject to the 
consideration of Count Fontchartrain, the colonial minister. 
He was favorably received, and authorized to establish the pro- 
posed fort at the earliest date possible. This he accomplished 
in 1701. 

With the exception of here and there a Jesuit missionary 



28 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and a few half savage coureiirs de bois, the region around 
Mackinaw was now forsaken by the French. 

A dispute soon arose between Cadillac and the Jesuits, 
the former insisting upon a concentration of French interests 
in the West, at Detroit, the latter urging the French govern- 
ment to reestablish Mackinaw. The Jesuits did all in their 
power to ]3revent the Indians removing to Detroit, w^hile Cadil- 
lac held out every inducement to prevail upon them to desert 
their villages and settle in the vicinity of the new fort, and so 
far succeeded that in 1706, as we have seen, the Jesuits became 
discouraged, burned down their college and chapel, and 
returned to Qiiebec. But, alarmed at this step, the governor 
soon prevailed upon Father James Ivlarest to return, and 
shortly after, the Ottawas, who were becoming dissatisfied at 
Detroit, began to move back to Mackinac. 

Father Mai'est now did all in his power to prevail upon 
the French government to send M. Louvigny, a former com- 
mander, with a few soldiers, to reestablish the fort, but did not 
succeed until 17 14, when the long wished for garrison and 
commander arrived, giving new life to the settlement. 

In 1731, Father Charlevoix, the historian of New France, 
visited Mackinaw, and thus speaks of it : 

" I arrived the twenty-eighth (June) at this post, which is 
much declined since M. de la Motte Cadillac drew to Detroit 
the greatest part of the savages who were settled here, and 
especially the Hurons. Sevei^al Ottawas have followed them, 
others have dispersed themselves in the Isles of Castor ; there 
is only here a middling village, where there is still a great 
trade for peltry, because it is the passage or the rendezvous of 
many of the savage nations. The fort is preserved, and the 
house of the missionaries, who are not much employed at 
present, having never found much docility among the Ottawas ; 
but the Court thinks their presence necessary, in a place where 
one must often treat with our allies, to exercise their ministry 
among the French, who come hither in great numbers. T have 
been assured, that since the settlement of Detroit, and the dis- 



FRENCH HISTORY. 



29 



persion of the savages occasioned thereby, many nations of the 
North who used to bring their peltries hither, have taken the 
route of Hudson's Bay, by the River Bourbon, and go there to 
trade with the EngHsh : but M. de la Motte could by no means 
foresee this inconvenience, since we were then in possession of 
Hudson's Ba}'. 

" The situation of Michilimackinac is verj^ advantageous 
for trade. This post is between three great lakes : Lake Mich- 
igan, which is three hundred leagues in compass, without 
mentioning the great Bay that comes into it; Lake Huron, 
which is three hundred and fifty leagues in circumference, and 
which is triangular ; and the LTpper Lake, which is five hun- 
dred leagues." 

From the date of Charlevoix's visit, down to 1760, when 
it passed forever out of the hands of the French, the records of 
the establishment at Mackinaw are very meagre, and compar- 
atively devoid of interest. At the last mentioned date, we find 
the fort on the south side of the Straits, but the time of the 
removal to that point has not been given b}^ an}- author at the 
writer's command. Hennepin, La Houtan and Cadillac, 
whom we have already quoted, describe it as on the north side, 
while Charlevoix says nothing bearing upon the question. 
Sheldon, in his History of Early Michigan, suggests that the 
removal probably took place in 1/14, when the post was 
reestablished. 

A brief notice of the war which ended with a transfer of 
Qiiebec with all its dependencies, not the least among which 
was Mackinac, will close the chapter. 

France and England being rivals in the Old World, could 
not be partners of the New. Had these two powers been sat- 
isfied to divide the American continent amicably between them, 
the history of Columbia would have been far different from 
what it is now. But when they crossed the Atlantic, they 
brought with them their hereditary enmity, and this enmity 
was strengthened by new issues which were constantlv arising. 



30 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Each desired undivided dominion over the North and West, 
and at times the struggle for supremacy was desperate. 

The Indians around the lakes were, almost without excep- 
tion, friendly to the French, while the " Five Nations," dwell- 
ing south and east from Lake Ontario, sided with the English. 

As early as 1686, English adventurers, in quest of the rich 
furs of the Northwest, pushed up the lakes to Mackinac, but 
the French, imwilling that any portion of the Indian trade 
should pass into the hands of their enemies, made their visits 
to this region too hazardous to be oft repeated. 

The heart sickens in contemplating this portion of our 
country's history. Many a spot was stained with the blood of 
its unfortunate inhabitants. The forests were often lighted up 
with the conflagration of burning villages, and the stillness of 
the midnight hour was frequently broken by the shrill war- 
whoop, mingled with the shrieks of helpless women under the 
tomahawk or scalping-knife. And these tragic scenes were too 
often prompted by French or English thirst for power. 

But finally, after many years, during which, with only 
short intervals of peace, these scenes of blood had frequent 
repetitions, the British government determined to make a 
powerful eflfort to dispossess the French colonies of this terri- 
tory. Military operations, however, were at first unfavorable 
to the English cause. Many a red column of well trained and 
well armed regulars wavered before the rifles of the combined 
French and Indians, who fought concealed in thickets, or from 
behind a breastwork of fallen trees. But in 1759, victory 
turned on the side of the English, and the question was 
brought to a speedy and decisive issue. An English army, 
under the command of Brigadier-General Wolf, succeeded, 
during the night of September 12th, in gaining the Heights of 
Abraham, at Quebec, where, upon the following day, was 
gained one of the most momentous victories in the annals of 
history, a victory which gave to the English tongue and the 
institutions of a Protestant Christianity the unexplored and 
seemingly infinite North and West. 



FRENCH HISTORY. 3 1 



Though this victory was gained in September of 1759, it 
was not until September of 1760 that a final surrender of Can- 
ada, with all the French posts around the lakes, was made to 
the English, and not till-September of 1761 that possession was 
taken of Mackinac by English troops, as mentioned by Henry 
in the following chapter. 



32 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER III. 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 

With the change of jurisdiction narrated in the previous 
chapter, a new scene opens before us ; a scene in which the 
red men are the principal actors. The victory on the Heights 
of Abraham, at Qtiebec, gave to England the possession of a 
wide extent of ten-itory, but that territory was one massive 
forest, interrupted only by prairies or lakes, or an occasional 
Indian cleai'ed field, of small dimeubions, for maize. The em- 
blems of power in these illimitable wastes were the occasional 
log forts, with picketed enclosures, which, from time to time, 
had been constructed by the French, but more as trading posts 
than as military strongholds. 

What the English had gained by force of arms they took 
possession of as conquerors, and, in their eagerness to supplant 
the French, they were blind to danger. Some of these posts 
were garrisoned by less than a score of men, and often left 
dependent upon the Indians for supplies, though they were so 
widely remote from each other that, "lost in the boundless 
woods, they could no more be discovered than a little fleet of 
canoes scattered over the whole Atlantic, too minute to be per- 
ceptible, and safe only in fair weather." But, weak as wei-e 
the English, their presence alarmed the red man, for it implied 
a design to occupy the country which, for ages, had been his 
own, and'the transfer of the territory around the Great Lakes 
from the French, who were the friends of the Indians, to the 
English, upon whom thev had been taught to look with dis- 
trust, could not, therefore, be regarded with favor by these 
tawny sons of the woods. The imtutored mind of the savage 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 33 



could not comprehend by what right the British flag was un- 
furled in the West. They could not understand how the Eng- 
lish could derive any claim to the red man's forest from victories 
over the French. Hence, from the very first, the English were 
regarded with suspicion by the Indian. 

It would have been well had the conduct of the English 
been such as to allay these suspicions, but, unfortunately, it was 
not. The Indians and French had lived on terms of the 
greatest intimacy. They were often like brothers in the same 
lodge. " They called us children, and we found them fathers." 
said a Chippewa chief, and these feelings pervaded the bosoms 
of all the lake tribes. But the English were cold and repulsive 
toward the Indians. The French had made them liberal pres- 
ents of guns, ammunition and clothing, but the English either 
withheld these presents altogether, or dealt them out so spar- 
ingly that many of them, deprived of their usual supplies, 
were reduced to want, and thus a spirit of discontent was 
fostered among them. But there were other grievances. The 
English fur traders were, as a class, ruffians of the coarsest 
stamp, who vied with each other in violence and rapacity^ 
and who cheated and plundered the Indians and outraged their 
families. The soldiers and officers of the garrisons had no 
word of welcome for them when they came to the forts, but 
onl}^ cold looks and harsh words, with oaths, menaces, and not 
unfrequently blows from the more reckless and bi'utal of their 
number. Another fruitful source of anxiety and discontent on 
the part of the Indians, was the intrusion of settlers upon their 
lands. Their homes were in danger. In spite of every re- 
monstrance, their best lands had already been invaded ; their 
hunting grounds would soon be taken from them, and the 
graves of their ancesters be desecrated by unhallowed feet. 
Some of the tribes were wrought up to the highest pitch of 
excitement and revenge by this constant invasion of their 
rights. 

Meanwhile, it must not be supposed that the French were 
mere idle spectators of passing events. Canada was gone, be- 
3 



34 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



yond the hope of recovery, but they still sought to revenge its 
loss by inflaming the resentment of the Indians, and in this 
they spared neither misrepresentation nor falsehood. They 
told them that the English had formed the deliberate design of 
rooting out their race, and for that purpose were already pen- 
ning them in with settlements on the one hand and a chain of 
forts on the other ; that the King of France had of late years 
fallen asleep ; that, during his slumbers, the English had seized 
upon Canada, but that he was now awake, and his armies were 
even then {idvancing up the St. Lawrence and the Mississippi, 
to drive the intruders from the country of his red children. 
These, and similar fabrications, made a deep impression upon 
the minds of the savages, and nerved them for the approaching 
contest. Yet another cause contributed much toward increas- 
ing the general excitement and dissatisfaction, and bringing 
the matter to an issue. A prophet came among the Delawares, 
and the susceptibility of the Indians to religious and super- 
stitious impressions gave him a mighty influence over them. 
They were taught to lay aside everything which they had re- 
ceived from the white man, and so strengthen and purify their 
natures as to make themselves acceptable to the Great Spirit, 
and by so doing they would soon be restored to their ancient 
greatness and power, and be enabled to drive the enemy from 
their country. The prophet had many followers. From far 
and near large numbers came to listen to his exhortations, and 
his words, pregnant with mischief to the unsuspecting Eng- 
lishman, were borne even to the nations around the northern 
lakes. 

This excitement among the savage tribes soon led them to 
overt action. In the spring of 1761, Capt. Campbell, then 
commanding at Detroit, learned that a deputation of Senecas 
had come to the neighboring village of the Wyandots for the 
purpose of instigating the latter to destroy him and his garri- 
son. Upon examination, the plot was found to be general, and 
other posts were to share the fate of his own ; but his prompt- 
ness in sending information to the other commanders nipped 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 35 



the conspiracy in tlie bud. During the following year a similar 
design was detected and suppressed. But these were only the 
precursors of a tempest. In the spring of 1763 a scheme was 
matured, " greater in extent, deeper and more comprehensive in 
design — such a one as was never, before or since, conceived or 
executed by a North American Indian." It contemplated, — 
Jirst^ a sudden and contemporaneous assault upon all the 
English forts around the lakes ; and second^ the garrisons hav- 
ing been destroyed, the turning of a savage avalanche of 
destruction upon the defenseless frontier settlements until, as 
many fondly believed, the English should be driven into the 
sea and the Indians reinstated in their primitive possessions. 

But before we further describe this conspiracy, let us turn 
our attention towards Michiliniackinac, and note the events that 
were transpiring at that point. It is unnecessary to say that 
the Indians of this neighborhood as generally and as sincerely 
lamented the change which had taken place in public affairs as 
their more southern neighbors. While they were strongly 
attached to the old residents with whom they had so long lived 
and traded on the most amicable terms, they were very gener- 
ally prejudiced against the new comers ; and this prejudice was 
wholly due to the French, for, at the time of which we speak, 
the English had not taken possession of the post. We cannot 
better describe the feelings which actuated these Indians than 
by relating the adventures of Alexander Henry, the first Eng- 
lish fur trader who ventured to come among them. It was 
with difficulty that Henry obtained permission to trade at 
Michilimackinac, at the time, for, no treaty of peace having 
been made with the Indians, the authorities were justly appre 
hensive that neither the property nor lives of His Majesty's 
subjects would be very secure among them. But, eager to 
make the attempt which he himself afterward called prema- 
ture, he at length obtained the coveted license, and, on the 3d 
day of August, 1761, began his journey. Nothing worthy of 
note occurred until he reached the Island of La Cloche, in 
Lake Hilron. Here the trader found a large village of Indians, 



36 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



whose behavior was, at first, full of civility and kindness, but 
when they discovered that he was an Englishman there was at 
once a marked change in the treatment which he received at 
their hands. They told him that the Indians at Michilimack- 
inac would not fail to kill him, and that they had a right, 
therefore, to a share of the pillage. Upon this principle they 
demanded a keg of rum, adding that if it was not given to 
them they would proceed to take it. Henry judged it prudent 
to comply, but on condition that he should experience no fur- 
ther molestation from them. From this point he received 
repeated warnings of sure destruction at Michilimackinac. 
Oppressed with a sense of danger, he knew not what to do. 
It was well nigh impossible to return, as he was advised to do, 
for his provisions were nearly exhausted. At length, observing 
that the hostility of the Indians was exclusively towards the 
English, while between them and his Canadian attendants 
there appeared the most cordial good will, he resolved to 
change his English dress for a suit such as was usually worn 
by Canadian traders. This done, he besmeared his face and 
hands with dirt and grease, and, taking the place of one of his 
men whenever Indians approached, used the paddle, with as 
much skill as possible. In this manner he was enabled to 
prosecute his journey without attracting the smallest notice. 
Early in September he arrived at the Island of Mackinac, and 
here we propose to introduce the hardy adventurer to the 
reader,, and allow him, in his voyageur's di'ess, to speak for 
himself: 

" The land in the centre of this island," he says, " is high, 
and its form somewhat resembles that of a turtle's back. 
Mackinac, or Mickinac, signifies a turtle^ and michi^ or missi^ 
signifies great ^ as it does also several^ or many. The common 
interpretation of the word Michilimackinac is, the Great 
Turtle. It is from this island that the fort, commonly known 
by the name of Michilimackinac, has obtained its appellation. 

" On the island, as I had previously been taught to expect, 
there was a village of Chippewas, said to contain a hundred 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 37 



warriors. Here I was fearful of discovery, and consequent ill 
treatment ; but after inquiring the news, and particularly 
whether or not any Englishman was coming to Michilimack- 
inac, they suffered us to jDass, uninjured. One man, indeed, 
looked at me, laughed, and pointed me out to another. This 
was enough to give me some uneasiness ; but, whatever was 
the singularity he perceived in me, both he and his friend 
retired, without suspecting me to be an Englishman. 

" Leaving, as speedily as possible, the island of Michili- 
mackinac, I crossed the strait, and landed at the fort, of the 
same name. The distance, from the island, is about two 
leagues. I landed at four o'clock in the afternoon. 

" Here I put the entire charge of my effects into the hands 
of my assistant. Campion, between whom and myself it had 
been previously agreed that he should pass for the proprietor ; 
and my men were instructed to conceal the fact that I was an 
Englishman. 

" Campion soon found a house, to which I retired, and 
where I hoped to remain in privacy ; but the men soon be- 
trayed my secret, and I was visited by the inhabitants, with 
great show of civility. They assured me that I could not stay 
at Michilimackinac without the most imminent insk, and 
strongly recommended that I should lose no time in making 
my escape to Detroit. 

" Though language like this could nOt but increase my 
uneasiness, it did not shake my determination to remain with 
my property and encounter the evils with which I was threat- 
ened, an^ my spirits were in some measure sustained by the 
sentiments of Campion, in this regard ; for he declared his 
belief that the Canadian inhabitants of the fort were more 
hostile than the Indians, as being jealous of Indian traders, 
who, like myself, were penetrating into the country. 

" Fort Michilimackinac was built by order of the gov- 
ernor-general of Canada, and garrisoned with a small number 
of militia, who, having families, soon became less soldiers than 



38 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



settlers. Most of those whom I found in the fort had originally 
served in the French army. 

■•' The fort stands on the south side of the strait which is 
between Lake Huron and Lake Michigan. It has an area of 
two acres, and is enclosed with pickets of cedar wood, and it 
is so near the water's edge that, when the wind is in the west, 
the waves break against the stockade. On the bastions are 
two small pieces of brass English cannon, taken some years 
since by a party of Canadians who went on a plundering expe- 
dition against the posts of Hudson's Bay, which they reached 
by the route of the river Churchill. 

" Within the stockade are thirty houses, neat in their 
appearance, and tolerably commodious; and a church, in 
which mass is celebrated by a Jesuit missionary. The num- 
ber of families may be nearly equal to that of the houses, and 
their subsistence is derived from the Indian traders, who as- 
semble here, in their voyages to and from Montreal. Michili- 
mackinac is the place of deposit, and point of dejoarture 
between the upper countries and the lower. Here the outfits 
are prepared for the countries of Lake Michigan and the Mis- 
sissippi, Lake Superior and the Northwest ; and here the 
returns, in furs, are collected and embarked for Montreal. 

" I was not released from the visits and admonitions of the 
inhabitants of the fort, before I received the equivocal intelli- 
gence that the whole band of Chippewas, from the island of 
Michilimackinac, was arrived, with the intention of paying me 
a visit. 

" There was, in the fort, one Farley, an interpreter, lately 
in the employ of the French commandant. He had married a 
Chippewa woman, and was said to possess great influence over 
the nation to which his wife belonged. Doubtful as to the kind 
of visit which I was about to receive, I sent for this interpre- 
ter, and requested, first, that he would have the kindness to be 
present at the interview, and, secondly, that he would inform 
me of the intentions of the band. Mr. Farley agreed to be 
present ; and, as to the object of the visit, replied, that it was 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTlAC. 39 



consistent with a uniform custom, that a stranger, on his 
arrival, should be waited upon, and welcomed, by the chiefs of 
the nation, who, on their part, always gave a small present, 
and always expected a large one ; but, as to the rest, declared 
himself unable to answer for the particular views of the Chip- 
pewas, on this occasion, I being an Englishman, and the In- 
dians having made no treaty with the English. He thought 
that there might be danger, the Indians having protested that 
they would not suffer an Englishman to remain in their part of 
the country. This information was far from agreeable ; but 
there was no resource, except in fortitude and patience. 

" At two o'clock in the afternoon the Chippewas came to 
my house, about sixty in number, and headed by Mina'va'va'- 
na, their chief. They walked in single file, each with his 
tomahawk in one hand, and scalping-knife in the other? Their 
bodies were naked, from the waist upward, except in a few 
examples, where blankets were thrown loosely over the shoul- 
ders. Their faces were painted, with charcoal worked up with 
grease ; their bodies, with white clay, in patterns of various 
fancies. Some had feathei's thrust through their noses, and 
their heads decorated with the same. It is unnecessary to 
dwell on the sensations with which I beheld the approach of 
this uncouth, if not frightful, assemblage. 

" The chief entered first, and the rest followed, without 
noise. On receiving a sign from the former, the latter seated 
themselves on the floor. 

" Minavavana appeared to be about fifty years of age. He 
was six feet in height, and had in his countenance an inde- 
scribable mixture of good and evil. Looking steadfastly at 
me, where I sat in ceremony, with an interpreter on either 
hand, and several Canadians behind me, he entered, at the 
same time, into conversation with Campion, inquiring how 
long it was since I left Montreal, and observing that the Eng- 
lish, as it would seem, were brave men, and not afraid of 
death, since they dared to come, as I had done, fearlessly, 
among: their enemies. 



4© OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" The Indians now gravely smoked their pipes, while I 
inwardly endured the tortures of suspense. At length, the 
pipes being finished, as well as a long pause by which they 
were succeeded, Minavavana, taking a few strings of wampum 
in his hand, began the following speech : 

" ' Englishman, it is to you that I speak, and I demand 
your attention I 

" ' Englishman, you know that the French king is our 
father. He promised to be such ; and we, in return, promised 
to be his children. This promise we have kept. 

" ' Englishman, it is you that have made war with this our 
father. You are his enemy ; and how, then, could you have 
the boldness to venture among us, his children.'' You know 
that his enemies are ours. 

" 'englishman, we are informed that our father, the king 
of France, is old and infirm; and that, being fatigued with 
making war upon your nation, he is fallen asleep. During his 
sleep you have taken advantage of him, and possessed your- 
selves of Canada. But his nap is almost at an end. 1 think I 
hear him already stirring and inquiring for his children, the 
Indians ; and, when he does awake, what must become of you ? 
He will destroy you utterly ! 

" ' Englishman, although you have conquered the French, 
you have not yet conquered us ! We are not your slaves. 
These lakes, these woods and mountains, were left to us by our 
ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with 
them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white 
people cannot live without bread — and poi'k — and beef! But, 
you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of 
Life, has provided food for us, in these spacious lakes, and on 
these woody mountains. 

" ' Englishman, our father, the king of France, employed 
our young men to make war upon your nation. In this war- 
fare many of them have been killed ; and it is our custom to 
retaliate until such time as the spirits of the slain are satisfied. 
But the spirits of the slain are to be satisfied in either of two 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 4 1 



ways ; the first Is by the spilling of the blood of the nation by 
which they fell ; the other, by covering the bodies of the 
dead, and thus allaying the resentment of their relations. This 
is done by making presents. 

" ' Englishman, your king has never sent us any presents, 
nor entered into any treaty with us, wherefore he and we are 
still at war ; and, until he does these things, we must consider 
that we have no other father nor friend, among the white men, 
than the king of France ; but, for you, we have taken into con- 
sideration that you have ventured your life among us in the 
expectation that we should not molest you. You do not come 
armed, with an intention to make war ; you come in peace, to 
trade with us, and supply us with necessaries, of which we are 
much in want. We shall regard you, therefore, as a brother ; 
and you may sleep tranquilly, without fear of the Chippewas. 
As a token of our friendship, we present you with this pipe, to 
smoke.' 

" As Minavavana uttered these words, an Indian presented 
me with a pipe, which, after I had drawn the smoke three 
times, was carried to the chief, and after him to every person 
in the room. This ceremony ended, the chief arose, and gave 
me his hand, in which he was followed by all the rest. 

" Being again seated, Minavavana requested that his 
young men might be allowed to taste what he called my .Eng- 
lish milk (meaning rum) observing, that it was long since 
they had tasted any, and that they were very desirous to know 
whether or not there were any difl'erance between the English 
milk and the French. 

" My adventure on leaving Fort William Augustus, had 
left an impression on my mind, which made me tremble when 
Indians asked for rum ; and I would therefore willingly have 
excused myself in this particular ; but, being informed that it 
was customary to comply with the request, and withal satisfied 
with the friendly declarations which I had received, I promised 
to give them a small cask at parting. After this, by the aid of 
my interpreter, I made a reply to the speech of Minavavana, 



42 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



declaring that it was the good character, which I had heard of 
the Indians, that had alone emboldened me to come among 
them : that their late father, the king of France, had surren- 
dered Canada to the king of England, whom they ought to 
regard now as their father, and who would be as careful of 
them as the other had been ; that I had come to furnish them 
with necessaries, and that their good treatment of me would 
be an encouragement to others. They appeared satisfied with 
what I said, repeating eh ! (an expression of approbation) 
after hearing each particular. I had prepared a present, which 
I now gave them with the utmost good will. At their depar- 
ture I distributed a small quantity of rum. 

" Relieved, as I now imagined myself, from all occasion 
of anxiety, as to the treatment which I was to experience from 
the Indians, I assorted my goods, and hired Canadian interpre- 
ters and clerks, in whose care I was to send them into Lake 
Michigan, and the river Saint Pierre, in the country of the 
Nadowessies ; into Lake Superior, among the Chippewas, and 
to the Grand Portage, for the northwest. Everything was 
ready for their departure when new dangers sprung up and 
threatened to overwhelm me. 

"At the entrance of Lake Michigan, and at about twenty 
miles to the west of Fort Michilimackinac, is the village of 
L'Arbre Croche, inhabited by a band of Ottawas, boasting of 
tv\^o hundred and fifty fighting men. L'Arbre Croche is the 
seat of the Jesuit mission of Saint Ignace de Michilimackinac, 
and the people ai"e partly baptized and partly not. The mis- 
sionary resides on a farm, attached to the mission, and situated 
between the village and the fort, both of which are 'ander his 
care. The Ottawas of L'Arbre Croche, who, when compared 
with the Chippewas, appear to be much advanced in civiliza- 
tion, grow maize for the market of Michilimackinac, where 
this commodity is depended upon for provisioning the canoes. 

" The new dangers which presented themselves came from 
this village of Ottawas. Everything, as I have said, was in 
readiness, for the departure of my goods, when accounts 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 43 



arrived of its approach ; and shortly after, two hundred war- 
riors entered the fort, and billeted themselves in the several 
houses, among the Canadian inhabitants. The next morning, 
they assembled in the house which was built for the command- 
ant, or governor, and ordered the attendance of myself, and 
of two other merchants, still later from Montreal, namely 
Messrs. Stanley Goddard and Ezekiel Solomons. 

" After our entering the council-room, and taking our 
seats, one of the cliiefs commenced an address: 'Englishmen,' 
said he, ' we, the Ottawas, were sometime since informed of 
your arrival in this country, and of your having brought with 
you the goods of which we have need. At the news we were 
greatly pleased, believing that through your assistance our wives 
and children would be enabled to pass another winter ; but 
what was our surprise, when, a few days ago, we were again 
informed, that the goods which, as we had expected, were in- 
tended for us, were on the eve of departure for distant coun- 
tries, of which, some are inhabited by our enemies ! These 
accounts being spread, our wives and children came to us, cry- 
ing, and desiring that we should go to the fort, to learn, with 
our own ears, their truth or folsehood. We accordingly em- 
barked, almost naked, as you see ; and on our arrival here, we 
have inquired into the accounts, and found them true. We see 
your canoes ready to depart, and find your men engaged for 
the Missippippi and other distant regions. 

" Under these circumstances, we have considered the 
affair ; and you are now sent for, that you may hear our deter- 
mination, which is that you shall give to each of our men 
young and old, merchandize and ammunition, to the amount 
of fifty beaver-skins, on credit, and for which I have no doubt 
of their paying you in the summer, on their return from their 
wintering. 

" A compliance with tliis demand would have stripped me 
and mv fellow-merchants of all our merchandize ; and what ren- 
dered the aflair still more serious, we even learned that these 
Ottawas were never accustomed to pay for what they received 



44 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



on credit. In reply therefore, to the speech which we had 
heard, we requested that the demand contained in it might 
be diminished ; but we were answered, that the Ottawas had 
nothing further to say, except that they would allow till the 
next day for reflection ; after which, if compliance .was not 
given, they would make no further application, but take into 
their own hands the property, which they already regarded as 
their own as having been brought into their country, before the 
conclusion of any peace, between themselves and the English. 

" We now returned, to consider of our situation; and in 
the evening Farley, the interpi-eter, paid us a visit, assured us 
that it was the intention of the Ottawas to put us, that night, to 
death. He advised us, as our only means of safety, to comply 
with the demands which had been made ; but we suspected our 
informant of a disposition to prey upon our fears, with a view 
to induce us to abandon the Indian trade, and resolved, how- 
ever this might be, rather to stand on the defensive, than sub- 
mit. We trusted to the house in which I lived as a fort ; and 
armed ourselves, and about thirty of our men, with muskets. 
Whether or not the Ottawas ever intended violence, we never 
had an opjDortunity of knowing ; but the night passed quietly. 

" Early the next morning, a second council was held, and 
the merchants were again summoned to attend. Believing that 
every hope of resistance would be lost, should we commit our 
person into the hands of our enemies, we sent only a refusal. 
There was none without, in whom we had any confidence, ex- 
cept Campion. From him we learned from time to time, 
whatever was rumored among the Canadian inhabitants, as to 
the designs of the Ottawas ; and from him toward sunset, we 
received the gratifying intelligence, that a detachment of Brit- 
ish soldiery, sent to garrison Michilimackinac, was distant only 
five miles, and would enter the fort early the next morning. 
Near at hand, however, as relief was reported to be, our 
anxiety could not but be great ; for a long night was to be 
passed, and our fate might be decided before the morning. To 
inciease our apprehensions, about midnight we were informed 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 45 



that the Ottawas were holdhig a council, at which no white 
man was j^crmitted to be present, Farley alone excepted ; and 
him we suspected, and afterward positively knew to be our 
greatest enemy. We, on our part, remained all night upon 
the alert ; but at day-break to our surprise and joy, we saw the 
Ottawas preparing to depart. By sunrise, not a man of them 
was left in the fort ; and indeed the scene was altogether 
changed. The inhabitants, who, while the Ottawas was pres- 
ent, had avoided all connection with the English traders, now 
came with congratulations. They related that the Ottawas had 
proposed to them, that if joined by the Canadians, they would 
march and attack the troops which were known to be advanc- 
ing on the fort ; and they added that it was their refusal which 
had determined the Ottawas to depart. "At noon, three hun- 
dred troops of the sixtieth regiment, under the command of 
Lieutenant Lesslie, marched into the fort ; and this arrival dis- 
sipated all our fears, from whatever source derived. After a 
few days, detachments were sent into the Ba}' dcs Puans, by 
which is the route to the Mississippi and at the mouth of Saint 
Joseph which leads to the Illinois. The Indians from all 
quarters came to pay their respects to the commandant ; and 
the merchants dispatched their canoes, though it was now the 
middle of September, and therefore somewhat late in the 
season." 

Thus relieved from his fears, Henry spent the winter at 
Michilimackinac amusing himself as best he could by hunting 
and fishing. But few of the Indians, he tells us, came to the 
fort excepting two families, one of which was that of a chief. 
These families lived on a river five leagues below and came 
occasionally with beaver flesh for sale. This chief was an 
exception to the rule, for instead of being hostile toward the 
English, he was warmly attached to them. But, in this case 
the exception proved the rule to a demonstration. Henry thus 
speaks of him. " He had been taken prisoner by Sir William 
Johnson, at the seige of Fort Niagara ; and had received from 
that intelligent officer, his liberty, the medal usually presented 



46 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



to a chief, and the British flag. Won by these unexpected acts 
of kindness, he had returned to Michilimackinac, full of 
praises of the English, and hoisting his flag over his lodge. 
This latter demonstration of his partiality had nearly cost him 
his life ; his lodge was broken down and his flag torn to pieces. 
The pieces he carefully gathered up and preserved with pious 
care ; and whenever he came to the fort, he drew them forth 
and exhibited Ihem. On these occasions it grew into a custom 
to give him as much liquor as he said was necessary to make 
him cry over the misfortune of losing his flag. The command- 
ant would have given him another ; but he thought that he 
could not accept it without danger." 

Upon the opening of navigation, Henry left Michilimacki- 
nac to visit the Sault de St. Marie. Here he made the 
acquaintance of M. Cadotte, an interpreter, whose wife was a 
Chippewa, and desirous of learning that language, he decided 
to spend the succeeding winter in the family of his new found 
friend. Here also there was a small fort, and during the sum- 
mer a small detachment of troops, under the command of 
Lieut. Jemette, arrived to garrison it. Late in the fall, how- 
ever, a destructive fire which consumed all the houses except 
Cadotl^'s, and all the fort supplies made it necessary to send 
the garrison back to Michilimackinac. The few that were left 
at this place were now crowded into one small house and com- 
pelled to gain a subsistance by hunting and fishing. Thus, 
inuring himself to hardships and familiarizing himself with 
the Chippewa tongue, Henry passed the second winter of his 
sojourn in the wilderness of the Upper Lakes. Early in the 
succeeding spring, 1763, he was visited by Sir Robert Dover, 
an English gentlemen, who, as Henry tells us, " was on a voy- 
age of curiosity," and with him he again returned to Michili- 
mackinac. Here he intended to remain until his clerks should 
come from the interior and then go back to the Sault. Leav- 
ing our hero at the moment of his arrival at the fort, we must 
again tui^n our attention to the tribes farther south. 

" It is diflicult to determine, ' says Parkman ' which tribe 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 



47 



was first to raise the cry of war. There were many who 
might have done so, for all the savages in the backwoods were 
ripe for an outbreak, and the movement seemed almost simul- 
taneous. The Delawares and Senecas were the most incensed 
and Kiashuta, chief of the latter, was perhaps foremost to 
apply the torch, but if this were the case, he touched fire to 
materials already on the point of igniting. It belonged to a 
greater chief than he to give method and order to what would 
else have been a wild burst of fury, and to convert desultory 
attacks into a formidable and pi'otracted war. But for Pontiac 
the whole might have ended in a few troublesome inroads 
upon the frontier, and a little whooping and yelling under the 
walls of Fort Pitt." 

There has been some dispute as to the nationality of Pon- 
tiac. Some have made him a member of the tribe of Sacks or 
Saakies, but by far the greater number have placed him among 
the Ottawas. His home was about eight miles above Deti-oit, 
on Pechee Island, which looks out upon the waters of Lake St. 
Clair. His form was cast in the finest mould of savage grace 
and strength, and his eye seemed capable of penetrating, at a 
glance, the secret motives which actuated the savage tribes 
around him. His rare personal qualities, his courage, resolu- 
tion, wisdom, address, and eloquence, together with the hered- 
itary claim to authority which, according to Indian custom, he 
possessed, secured for him the esteem of both the French and 
English, and gave him an influence among the Lake tribes 
greater than that of any other individual. Early in life he dis- 
tinguished himself as a chieftain of no ordinary ability. In 
1746 he commanded a powerful body of Indians, mostly Otta- 
was, who gallantly defended the people of Detroit against the 
formidable attack of several combined northern tribes, and it is 
supposed that he was present at the disastrous defeat of Brad- 
dock, in which several hundred of his warriors were engaged. 
He had always, at least up to the time when Major Rogers 
came into the country, been a firm friend of the French, and 



48 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



received many marks of esteem from the French officer, Mar- 
quis de Montcalm. 

How coidd he, theti, " the daring chief of the Northwest," 
do otherwise than dispute the EngHsh claim to his country ? 
How could he endure the sight of this people driving the game 
from his hunting grounds, and his friends and allies from the 
lands they had so long possessed ? When he heard that Rogers 
was advancing along the lakes to take possession of the country, 
his indignation knew no bounds, and he at once sent deputies, 
requesting him to halt until such time as he could see him. 
Flattering words and foir promises induced him, at length, to 
extend the hand of friendship to Rogers. He was inclined to 
live peaceably with the English and to encourage their settling 
in the country as long as they treated him as he deserved, but 
if they treated him with neglect he would shut up the way and 
exclude them from it. He did not consider himself a conquered 
prince, but he expected to be treated with the respect and honor 
due to a king. 

While a system of good management might have allayed 
every suspicion and engendered peace and good will, a want of 
cordiality increased the discontent, and Pontiac soon saw that 
the fair promises which had been made him were but idle 
woi"ds. The Indians were becoming more and more dissat- 
isfied, and he began seriously to apprehend danger from the 
new government and people. He saw in the English a bound- 
less ambition to possess themselves of every military position 
on the Northern waters, an ambition which plainly indicated 
to his far-reaching sagacity that soon, nothing less than undis- 
puted possession of all his vast domain would satisfy them. 
He saw in them a people superior in arms, but utterly desti- 
tute of that ostensible cordiality towaxd the Indians personally 
to which his people had been accustomed during the gqlden 
age of French dominion, and which they were apt to regard as 
necessary indications of good faith. There seemed no disposi- 
tion for national courtesy, individual intercourse or beneficial 
commerce of any kind. All those circumstances which made 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 4^ 



the neighborhood of the French agreeable, and which might 
have made their own at least tolerable, they neglected. Their 
conduct never gave rest to suspicion, while that of the French 
never gave rise to it. Hence the Indians felt, as Minavavana 
expressed it, that they had " no father among the white men 
but the King of France," and Pontiac resolved, as he had threat- 
ened, to " shut up the way." His plan, as we have said, was 
to make a contemporaneous assault upon all the British posts, 
and thus effectually to extinguish the English power at a single 
blow. This was a stroke of policy which evinced an extraor- 
dinary genius, and demanded for its successful execution an 
energy and courage of the highest order. But Pontiac was 
fully equal to the task. He was as skillful in executing as he 
was bold in planning. He knew that success would multiply 
friends and allies, but friends and allies were necessary to 
insure success. 

First, then, a council must be called, and for this purpose, 
at the close of 1762, he sent out his embassadors to all the dif- 
ferent nations. With the war-belt of wampum and the toma- 
hawk stained red in token of war, these swift footed messen- 
gers went from camp to camp and from village to village, 
throughout the North, South, East and West, and in whatever 
tribe they appeared the sachems assembled to hear the words 
of the great Pontiac. The message was everywhere heard with 
approbation, the war-belt accepted and the hatchet seized as an 
indication that the assembled chiefs stood pledged to take part 
in the war. 

The grand council assembled on the twenty-seventh day of 
the following April, on the banks of the little river Ecorce, not 
tar from Detroit. The pipe went round and Pontiac stepped 
forth, plumed and painted in the full costume of war. He 
called into requisition all the eloquence and cunning of which 
he was master. He appealed to their fears, their hopes, their 
ambition, their cupidity, their hatred of the English, and their 
love for their old friends, the French. He displayed to them a 
belt which he said the King of France had sent him, urging 
4 



50 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



him to drive the English from the country and open the way 
for the return of the French. He painted, in glowing colors, 
the common interests of their race, and called upon them to 
make a stand against a common foe. He told them of a dream 
in which the Great Manijtou had appeared to a chief of the 
Abenakis, saying, " I am the Maker of heaven and earth, the 
trees, lakes, rivers, and all things else. I am the Maker of 
mankind ; and because I love you, you must do my will. The 
land on which you live I have made for you and not for others. 
Why do you suffer the white men to dwell among you ? My 
children, you have forgotten the customs and traditions of your 
forefathers. Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as 
they did, and use the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed 
lances which they used ? You have bought guns, knives, ket- 
tles and blankets from the white men, until you can no longer 
do without them ; and what is worse, you have drunk the poi- 
son fire-water, which turns you into fools. Fling all these 
things away ; live as your wise forefathers lived before you. 
And as for these English — these dogs dressed in red, who hav-e 
come to rob you of your hunting-grounds and drive away the 
game — you must lift the hatchet against them. Wipe them 
from the face of the earth, and then you will win my favor back 
ao'ain and once more be happy and prosperous. The children 
of your great father, the King of France, are not like the Eng- 
lish. Never forget that they are your brethren. They are 
very dear to me, for they love the I'ed men, and understand the 
true mode of worshipping me." 

Such an appeal to the passions and prejudices of credulous 
and excited savages was well calculated to produce the desired 
effect. If the Great vSpirit was with them, it was impossible 
to fail. Other speeches were doubtless made, and before the 
council broke up the scheme was well matured. 

Thus was the crisis hastening on. While every principle 
of revenge, ambition and patriotism in the savages was thus 
being roused up to the highest pitch, and the tomahawk was 
already lifted for the blow, scarce a suspicion of the savage 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 5 1 



design found its way to the minds of the English. Occasion- 
ally an English ti\ider would see something in their behavior 
which caused him to suspect mischief, or " some scoundrel 
half-breed would be heard boasting in his cups that before next 
summer he would have English hair to fringe his hunting- 
frock," but these things caused no alarm. Once, however, the 
plot was nearly discovered. A friendly Indian told the com 
mander of Fort Miami that a war-belt had been sent to the 
warriors of a neighboring village, and that the destruction of 
himself and garrison had been resolved upon ; but when 
information of this was conveyed to Major Gladwyn, of De- 
troit, that officer wrote to General Amherst stating that, in his 
opinion, there had been some irritation among the Indians, but 
that the affair would soon blow over, and that in the neighbor- 
hood of his own fort all was tranquil, Amherst thought that 
the acts of the Indians were unwarrantable, and hoped that 
they would be too sensible of their own interests to conspire 
against the English ; he wished them to know that if they did, 
in his opinion they would make a " contemptible figui-e." 
" Yes," said he, " a contemptible figure I They would be the 
sufferers, and in the end it would result in their destruction." 
Deluded men ! Almost within rifle shot of Gladwyn's quarters 
was Pontiac, the arch enem3f of the English and the prime 
mover in the plot, and the sequel proved how " contemptible" 
was the figure which the savages made ! 

From north to south and from east to west the work of 
extirpation soon began. Numbers of English traders, on their 
way from all quarters of the country to the different posts, were 
taken, and their goods made the prize of the conquerors. 
Lai-ge bodies of savages were seen collecting around the vari- 
ous forts, yet, strange to say, without exciting any serious alarm. 
When the blow was struck, which was nearly at the same 
time, nine out of the twelve British posts were surprised and 
destroyed ! It would doubtless be interesting to notice in de- 
tail these nine surprisals, but it is foreign to our purpose to give 
in full more than one, that of Michilimackinac. We may say, 



52 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



however, that in general quite as much was effected by strate- 
gem as by force, and that, apparently, by a preconcerted sys- 
tem indicative of the far-reaching superintendence of the great 
•. gleader. 

This chapter may be appropriately closed with the follow- 
ing extracts from speeches made by Pontiac to the French of 
Detroit during the siege of that place : 

" I do not doubt, my brothers, that this war is very trouble- 
some to you, for our warriors are continually passing and re- 
passing through your settlement. I am sorry for it. Do not 
think that I approve of the damage that is done by them, and 
as a proof of this, remember the war with the Foxes, and the 
part which I took in it. It is now seventeen years since the 
Ojibwas of Michilimackinac, combined with the Sacs and 
Foxes, came down to destroy you. Who then defended you ? 
Was it not I and my young men ? Michinac, great chief of all 
these nations, said in council that he would carry to his village 
the head ot your commandant ; that he would eat his heart and 
drink his blood. Did I not take your part.? Did I not go to 
his camp and say to him that if he wished to kill the French 
he must first kill me and my warriors ? Did I not assist you 
in routing them and driving them away? And now you think 
that I would tui'n my arms against you ! No, my brothers ; I 
am the same French Pontiac who assisted you seventeen years 
ago ; I am a Frenchman, and I wish to die a Frenchman ; and 
I now repeat to you that you and I are one — that it is for both 
our interests that I should be avenged. Let me alone. I do 
not ask you for aid, for it is not in your power to give it. I 
only ask provisions for myself and men. Yet, if you are in- 
clined to assist me, I shall not refuse you. It would please 
me, and you yourselves would be sooner rid of your troubles, 
for I promise you that as soon as the English are driven out 
we will go back to our villages, and there await the arrival of 
our French father. You have heard what I have to say ; re- 
main at peace, and I will w^atch that no harm shall be done to 
you, either by my men or by the other Indians." 



CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC. 53 



The following address was made at a more advanced stage 
of the siege, when Pontiac had become anxious to secure the 
French as auxiliaries in the war. Throwing a war-belt into 
their midst, he said : 

" My brothers, how long will you sufler this bad flesh to 
remain upon your lands ? I have told you before, and I now 
tell you again, that when I took up the hatchet, it was for your 
good. This year the English must all perish throughout Can- 
ada. The Master of Life commands it, and you, who know 
him better than we, wish to oppose his will. Until now I have 
said nothing on this matter. I have not urged you to take part 
with us in the war. It would have been enough had you been 
content to sit quiet on your mats, looking on, while we were 
fighting for you. But you have not done so. You call your- 
selves our friends, and yet you assist the English with provis- 
ions, and go about as spies among our villages. This must not 
continue. You must be either wholly French or wholly Eng- 
lish. If you ai-e French, take up that war-belt and lift the 
hatchet with us ; but if you are English, then we declare war 
upon you. My brothers, I know this is a hard thing. We 
are all alike children of our great father, the King of France, 
and it is hard to fight among brethren for the sake of dogs. 
But there is no choice. Look upon the belt, and let us hear 
your answer." 



54 OLD AXD NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER IV. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 

The following description of Michilimackinac is taken 
from Mr. Parkman's very excellent work entitled " Histoiy of 
the Conspiracy of Pontiac." " It is drawn," says the writer, 
" from traditional accounts, aided by a personal examination 
of the spot, where the stumps of the pickets and the founda- 
tions of the houses may still be traced." 

" In the spring of the year 1763, before the war broke out„ 
several English traders went up to Michilimackinac, some 
adopting the old route of the Ottawa, and others that of Detroit 
and the lakes. We will follov*^ one of the latter on his adven- 
turous progress. Passing the fort and settlement of Detroit, he 
soon enters Lake St. Clair, which seems like a broad basin 
filled to overflowing, while, along its far distant vei-ge, a faint 
line of forest separates the water from the sky. He crosses the 
lake, and his voyageurs next urge his canoe against the current 
of the great river above. At length Lake Huron opens before 
him, stretching its liquid expanse, like an ocean, to the farthest 
horizon. His canoe skirts the eastern shore of Michigan, where 
the forest rises like a wall from the water's edge ; and as he 
advances northward an endless line of stiff and shaggy fir trees, 
hung with long mosses, fringes the shore with an aspect of a 
monotonous desolation. In the space of two or three weeks, 
Jf his Canadians labor well, and no accident occurs, the trader 
approaches -the end of his voyage. Passing on his right the 
extensive island of Bois Blanc, he sees, nearly in front, the beau- 
tiful island of Mackinaw — rising, with its white cliffs and green 
foliage, from the broad breast of the waters. He does not steer 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC, 55 



towards it, for at that day the Indians were its only tenants ; 
but keeps along the main shore to the left, while his voyageurs 
raise their song and chorus. Doubling a point he sees before 
him the red flag of England swelling lazily in the wind, and the 
palisades and wooden bastions of Fort Michilimackinac stand- 
ing close upon the margin of the lake. On the beach canoes 
are drawn up, and Canadians and Indians are idly lounging. 
A little beyond the fort is a cluster of the white Canadian 
houses, roofed with bark, and protected by fences of strong 
round piekets. 

" The trader enters at tire gate, and sees before him an 
extensive square area, surrounded by high palisades. Numer- 
ous houses, barracks, and other buildings form a smaller square 
within, and in the vacant space which they enclose appear the 
red uniforms of British soldiers, the gray coats of Canadians, 
and the gaudy Indian blankets, mingled in picturesque confu- 
sion, while a multitude of squaws, with children of every hue, 
stroll restlessly about the place. Such was Fort Michilimack- 
inack in 1763. Its name, which in the Algonquin tongue sig- 
nifies the Great Turtle, was first, from a fancied resemblance, 
applied to the neighboring island, and thence to "the fort. 

" Though buried in a wilderness, Michilimackinac was 
still of no recent origin. As early as 1671 the Jesuits had es- 
tablished a mission near the place, and a military force was not 
long in following, for under the French dominion the priest 
and the soldier went hand in hand. Neither toil, nor suffer- 
ing, nor all the terrors of the wilderness could damp the zeal 
of the undaunted missionary ; and the restless ambition of 
France was always on the alert to seize every point of advan- 
tage, and avail itself of every means to gain ascendancy over 
the forest tribes. Besides Michilimackinac, there were two 
other posts in this northern region. Green Bay and the Sault 
Ste. Marie. Both were founded at an early period, and both 
presented the same characteristic features — a mission house, a 
fort, and a cluster of Canadian dwellings. They had been 
originally garrisoned by small parties of militia, who, bringing 



56 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



their families with them, settled on the spot, and were founders 
of these little colonies. Michilimackinac, much the largest of 
the three, contained thirty families within the palisades of the 
fort, and about as many more without. Besides its military 
value, it was important as a center of the fur trade, for it 
was here that the traders engaged their men, and sent out their 
goods in canoes, under the charge of subordinates, to the more 
distant regions of the Mississippi and the northwest. 

" The Indians near Michilimackinac were the Ojibwas 
and Ottawas, the former of whom claimed the eastern section 
of Michigan, and the latter the western, their respective por- 
tions being separated b}' a line drawn southvvai'd from the fort 
itself. The principal village of the Ojibwas contained about 
a hundred warriors, and stood upon the island of Michilimack- 
inac, now called Mackinaw. There was another smaller vil- 
lage near the bead of Thunder Bay. The Ottawas, to the 
number of two hundred and fifty warriors, lived at the settle- 
ment of L'Arbre Croche, on the shores of Lake Michigan, some 
distance southwest of the fort. This place was then the seat of 
the old Jesuit mission of St. Ignace, originally placed by Father 
Marquette on the northern side of the straits. Many of the Ot- 
tawas were nominal Catholics. They were all somewhat im- 
proved from their original savage condition, living in log houses, 
and cultivating corn and vegetables to such an extent as to sup- 
ply the fort with provision, besides satisfying their own wants. 
The Ojibwas, on the other hand, were not in the least de- 
gree removed from their primitive barbarism." 

At this time both these tribes had received from Pontiac 
the war-belt of black and purple wampum and the painted 
hatchet, and had pledged themselves to join in the contest. 
Before the end of May the Ojibwas or Chippewas received 
word that the blow had already been struck at Detroit, and 
wrought up to the highest pitch of excitement and emulation, 
resolved that peace should last no longer. Eager to reap all 
the glory of the victory, or prompted by jealousy, this tribe 
neither communicated to the Ottawas the news which had come 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 57 



to them nor their own resolution to make an immediate assault 
ypon Michihmackinac ; hence the OUawas, as wc shall also 
learn from Henry's account, had no part in that bloody tragedy. 
There were other tribes however, which, attracted by rumors 
of impending war, had gathered at Michihmackinac, and which 
took part in the struggle. 

There is a discrepancy between the official report of Capt. 
Ethrington, commander of the post, and Henry's statement ; 
the former making the garrison to consist of thirty-five men, 
with their officers, and the latter, as we shall see, of ninety. 
We. give the reader the facts just as we find them recorded, 
leaving him to reconcile this difterence in his own way. Per- 
haps, as Parkman suggests, Henry intended to include in his 
enumeration all the inhabitants of the fort, both soldiers and 
Canadians. 

We left Henry at the moment of his arrival at the fort. 
We must now allow him to go on with his story, for he is far 
better qualified for that task than we are. 

" When I reached Michilimackinac I found several other 
traders who had arrived before me, from difterent parts of the 
country, and who, in general, declared the dispositions of the 
Indians to be hostile to the English, and even apprehended 
some attack. M. Laurent Ducharme distinctly informed jNIajor 
Ethrington that a plan was absolutely conceived for destroying 
him, his garrison, and all the English in the upper country, 
but the commandant, believing this and other reports to be 
without foundation, proceeding only from idle or ill-disposed 
persons, and of a tendency to do mischief, expressed much dis- 
pleasure against M. Ducharme, and threatened to send the next 
person who should bring a story of the same kind a prisoner to 
Detroit. 

" The garrison at this time consisted of ninety privates, 
two subalterns, and the commandant, and the English mer- 
chants at the fort were four in number. Thus strong, few en- 
tertained anxiety concerning the Indians, who had no weapons 
but small arms. 



58 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" Meanwhile the Indians from every quarter were daily 
assembling in unusual numbers, but with every appearance of 
friendship, frequenting the fort and disposing of their peltries 
in such a manner as to dissipate almost any one's fears. For 
myself, on one occasion I took the liberty of observing to Major 
Ethrington that, in my judgment, no confidence ought to be 
placed in them, and that I was informed no less than four hun- 
dred lay around the fort. In return the Major only rallied me 
on my timidity, and it is to be confessed that if this officer 
neglected admonition on his part, so did I on mine. Shortly 
after my first arrival at Michilimackinac in the preceding year, 
a Chippewa named Wa'wa'tam began to come often to my 
house, betraying in his demeanor strong marks of personal 
regard. After this had continued for some time, he came on 
a certain day bringing with him his whole family, and at the 
same time a large present, consisting of skins, sugar, and dried 
meat. Having laid these in a heap he commenced a speech, 
in which he informed me that, some years before, he had ob- 
served a fast, devoting himself, according to the custom of his 
nation, to solitude and the mortification of his body, in the hope 
to obtain from the Great Spirit protection through all his days ; 
that on this occasion he had dreamed of adopting an English- 
man as his son, brother, and friend ; that from the moment in 
which he first beheld me he had recognized me as the person 
whom the Great Spirit had been pleased to point out to hirft 
for a brother ; that he hoped that I would not refuse his pres- 
ent, and that he should forever regard me as one of his family. 

" I could do no otherwise than accept the present, and de- 
clare my willingness to have so good a man as this appeared to 
be for my friend and brother. I offered a jDresent in return for 
that which I had received, which Wawatam accepted, and then 
thanking me for the favor which he said that I had rendered 
him he left me, and soon after set out on his winter's hunt. 

" Twelve months had now elapsed since the occurrence of 
this incident, and I had almost forgotten the person of my 
brother, when, on the second day of June, Wawatam came 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 59 



again to my house, in a temper of mind visibly melancholy and 
thoughtful. He told me that he had just returned from his 
wintering-ground^ and I asked after his health ; but without 
answering my question he went on to say that he was very 
sorr}' to find me returned from the Sault ; that he had intended 
to go to that place himself, immediately after his arrival at 
Michilimackinac ; and that he wished me to go there along 
with him and his family the next morning. To all this he 
joined an inquiry whether or not the commandant had heard 
bad news, adding that, during the winter, he had himself been 
frequently disturbed with the noise of evil birds ; and further 
suggesting that there were numerous Indians near the fort, 
many of whom had never shown themselves within it. Wa- 
watam was about forty-five years of age, of an excellent char- 
acter among his nation, and a chief. 

" Referring much of what I heard to the peculiarities 
of the Indian character, I did not pay all the attention 
which they will be found to have deserved to the entreat- 
ies and remarks of my visitor, I answered that I could not think 
of going to the Sault so soon as the next morning, but would 
follow him there after the arrival of my clerks. Finding him- 
self unable to prevail with me, he withdrew for that day, but 
early the next morning he came again, bringing with him his 
wife and a present of dried meat. At this interview, after stat- 
ing that he had several packs of beaver, for which he intended 
to deal with me, he expressed a second time his apprehensions 
from the numerous Indians who were around the fort, and ear- 
nestly pressed me to consent to an immediate dejjarture for the 
Sault. As a reason for this particular request he assured me 
that all the Indians proposed to come in a body that day to the 
fort, to demand liquor of the commandant, and that he wished 
me to be gone before they should grow intoxicated. T had 
made, at the period to which I am now referring, so much pro- 
gress in the language in which Wawatam addressed me, as to 
be able to hold an ordinary covcrsation in it ; but the Indian 
manner of speech is so extravagantly figurative that it is only 



6o OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



for a very perfect master to follow and comprehend it entirely. 
Had I been further advanced in this respect I think that I 
should have gathered so much information from this my friendly 
monitor as would have put me into possession of the designs of 
the enemy, and enabled me to save others as well as myself; 
as it was, it unfortunately happened that I turned a deaf ear to 
ever3i:hing, leaving Wawatum and his wife, after long and pa- 
tient, but ineffectual efforts, to depart alone, with dejected coun- 
tenances, and not before the^^ had each let fall some tears. 

" In the course of the same day, I observed that the In- 
dians came in great numbers into the fort, purchasing toma- 
hawks, (small axes of one pound weight,) and frequently de- 
siring to see silver arm-bands, and other valuable ornaments, of 
which I had a large quantity for sale. These ornaments, how- 
ever, they, in no instance, purchased ; but, after turning them 
over, left them, saying that they would call again the next day. 
Their motive, as it afterward appeared, was no other tha'n the 
very artful one of discovering, by i"equesting to see them, the 
particular places of their deposit, so that they might lay their 
hands on them, in the moment of pillage, with the greater 
certainty and dispatch. 

" At night I turned in my mind the visits of Wawatam ; 
but, though they were calculated to excite uneasiness, nothing 
induced me to believe that serious mischief was at hand. 

" The next day, being the fourth of June, was the king's 
birthday. The morning was sultry. A Chippewa came to 
tell me that his nation was going to J^lay at bag'gat'iway, with 
the Sacs or Saakies, another Indian nation, for a high wager. 
He invited me to witness the sport, adding that the command- 
ant was to be there, and would bet on the side of the Chippe- 
was. In consequence of this information, I went to the com- 
mandant, and expostulated with him a little, representing that 
the Indians might possibly have some sinister end in view ; 
but the commandant only smiled at my suspicions." 

The game of baggatiway, which the Indians played upon 
that memorable occasion, was the most exciting sport in which 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 



the red man could engage. It was played with bat and ball. 
The bat, so called, was about four feet in length and an inch 
in diameter. It was made of the toughest material that could 
be found. At one end it was curved, and terminated in a sort 
of racket, or perhaps, more properly, a ring, in which a net- 
work of cord was loosely woven. The players were not 
allowed to touch the ball with the hand, but caught it in this 
network at the end of the bat. At either end of the ground a 
tall post was planted. These posts marked the stations of the 
rival parties, and were sometimes a mile apart. The object 
of each party was to defend its own post and carry the ball 
to that of the adversary. 

At the beginning of the game the main body of the 
players assemble half way between the two posts. Every eye 
sparkles, and evei"y cheek is already aglow with excitement. 
The ball is tossed high into the air, and a general sti'uggle en- 
sues to secure it as it descends. He who succeeds starts for 
the goal of the adversary, holding it high above his head. The 
opposite party, with merry yells, are swift to pursue. His 
course is intercepted, and rather than see the ball taken from 
him, he throws it, as the boy throws a stone from a sling, as 
far towards the goal of the adversary as he can. An adver- 
sary in the game catches it and sends it whizzing back in the 
opposite direction. Hither and thither it goes : now far to 
the right, now as far to the left ; now near to the one, now as 
near to the other goal ; the whole band crowding continually 
after it in the wildest confusion, until, finally, some agile figure, 
more fleet of foot than others, succeeds in bearing it to the goal 
of the opposite party. 

Persons now living upon this island, who have frequently 
seen this game played by the Indians, and themselves partici- 
pated in it, inform the writer that often a whole day is 
insufficient to decide the contest. When such is the case, the 
following day is taken, and the game begun anew. As many 
as six or seven hundred Indians sometimes engage in a single 
game, while it may be played by fifty. In the heat of the con- 



62 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



test, when all are running at their greatest speed, if one 
stumbles and falls, fifty or a hundred, who are in close pursuit 
and unable to stop, pile over him, forming a mound of human 
bodies, and frequently players are so bruised as to be unable 
to proceed in the game. 

This game, with its attendant noise and violence, was well 
calculated to divert the attention of officers and men, and thus 
permit the Indians to take possession of the fort. To make 
their success more certain, they prevailed upon as many as 
they could to come out of the fort, while at the same time their 
squaws, v/rapped in blankets, beneath which they concealed 
the murderous weapons, were placed inside the enclosure. 
The plot was so ingeniously laid that no one suspected danger. 
The discipline of the garrison was relaxed, and the soldiers 
permitted to stroll about and vievv the sport, without weapons 
of defence. And even when the ball, as if by chance, was 
lifted high in the air, to descend inside the pickets, and was 
followed by four hundred, savages, all eager, all struggling, all 
shouting, in the unrestrained pursuit of a rude, athletic exer- 
cise, no alarm was felt until the shrill war-whoop told the 
startled garrison that the slaughter had actually began. 

Henry continues : " I did not go myself to see the match 
which was now to be played without the fort, because, there 
being a canoe prepared to depart on the following day, for 
Montreal, I employed myself in writing letters to my friends ; 
and even when a fellow trader, Mr. Tracy, happened to call 
upon me, saying that another canoe had just arrived from 
Detroit, and proposing that I shovdd go with him to the beach, 
to inquire the news, it so happened that I still remained, to 
finish my letters, promising to follow Mr. Tracy in the course 
of a few minutes. Mr. Tracy had not gone more than twenty 
paces from my door, when I heard an Indian war-cry, and a 
noise of general confusion. Going instantly to my window, I 
saw a crowd of Indians, within the fort, furiously cutting down 
and scalping every Englishman the}' found. In particular I 
witnessed the fate of Lieutenant Jemette. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 63 



" I had, in the room in which I was, a fowling-piece, 
loaded with, swan shot. This I immediately seized, and held 
it for a few minutes, waiting to hear the drum beat to arms. 
In this dreadful interval I saw several of my countrvmen fall, 
and more than one struggling between the knees of an Indian, 
who, holding him in this manner, scalped him while yet living. 
" At length, disappointed in the hope of seeing resistance 
made to the enemy, and sensible, of course, that no eflbrt of 
my own unassisted arm could avail against four hundi'ed 
Indians, I thought only of seeking shelter. Amid the slaughter 
which was raging, I observed many of the Canadian inhabit- 
ants of the fort calmly looking on, neither op^Dosing the Indians 
nor suflering injury ; and, from this circumstance, I conceived 
a hope of finding security in their houses. 

" Between the yard-door of my own house and that of 
M. Langlade, my next neighbor, there was only a low fence, 
over which I easily climbed. At my entrance I found the 
whole family at the windows, gazing at the scene of blood 
before them. I addressed myself immediately to M. Langlade, 
begging that he would put me into some place of safety until 
the heat of the aflair should be over, an act of charity by 
which he might perhaps preserve me from the general mas- 
sacre ; but, while I uttered my petition, M. Langlade, who had 
looked for a moment at me, turned again to the window, 
shrugging his shoulders, and intimating that he could do 
nothing for me : " Qiie voudriez — vous que j'en ferais ? " 

" This was a moment for despair ; but, the next, a Pani 
woman, a slave of M. Langlade, beckoned me to follow her. 
She brought me to a door, which she opened, desiring mc to 
enter, and telling me that it led to the garret, where I must go 
and conceal myself. I joyfully obeyed her directions ; and 
she, having followed me up to the garret door, locked it after 
me, and with great presence of mind took away the key. 

" This shelter obtained, if shelter I could hope to find it, 
I was naturally anxious to know what might still be passing 
without. Through an aperture, which aftbrded me a view of 



64 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the area of the fort, I beheld, in shapes the foulest and most 
terrible, the ferocious triumphs of barbarian conquerors. The 
dead were scalped and mangled ; the dying were writhing and 
shrieking, under the unsatiated knife and tomahawk ; and, 
from the bodies of some, ripped open, their butchers were 
drinking the blood, scooped up in the hollow of joined hands, 
and quafled amid shouts of rage and victory. I was shaken, 
not only with horror, but with fear. The sufferings which I 
witnessed, I seemed on the point of experiencing. No long 
time elapsed before every one being destroyed, who could be 
found, there was a general cry of " All is finished ! " At the 
same instant I heard some of the Indians enter the house in 
which I was. The garret was separated from the room below 
only by a layer of single boards, at once the flooiung of the 
one and the ceiling of the other. I could therefore hear every- 
thing that passed ; and the Indians no sooner came in than 
they inquired whether or not any Englishman were in the 
house. M. Langlade replied, that " he could not say," — he 
" did not know of any ; " — answers in which he did not exceed 
the truth ; for the Pani woman had not only hidden me by 
stealth, but kept my secret, and her own. M. Langlade was, 
therefore, as I presume, as far from a wish to destroy me as he 
was careless about saving me, when he added lo these answers, 
that " they might examine for themselves, and would soon be 
satisfied as to the object of their question." Saying this, he 
brought them to the garret door. 

" The state of my mind will be imagined. Arrived at 
the door, some delay was occasioned hy the absence of the key, 
and a few moments were thus allowed me in which to look 
around me for a hiding place. In one corner of the garret was 
a heap of those vessels of birch bark used in maple-sugar mak- 
ing, as I have recently described. 

" The door was unlocked, and opening, and the Indians 
ascending the stairs, befgre I had completely crept into a small 
opening which presented itself at one end of the heap. An 
instant later four Indians entered the room, all armed with torn- 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 6i^ 



ahawks, and all besmeared with blood upon every part of their 
bodies. 

" The die appeared to be cast. I could scarcely breathe, 
but I thought that the throbbing of my heart occasioned a noise 
loud enough to betray me. The Indians walked in every direc- 
tion about the garret, and one of them approached me so closely 
that at a particular moment had he put forth his hand he must 
have touched me. Still I remained undiscovered, a ciixum- 
stance to which the dark color of my clothes, and the want of 
light in a room which had no window, and in the corner in 
which I was, must have contributed. In a word, after taking 
several turns in the room, during which they told M. Langlade 
how many they had killed, and how many scalps they had 
taken, they returned down stairs, and I, with sensations not to 
be expressed, heard the door, which was the barrier between 
me and my fate, locked for the second time. 

" There was a feather-bed on the floor, and on this, ex- 
hausted as I was by the agitation of my mind, I threw myself 
down and fell asleep. In this state I remained till the dark of 
the evening, when I was awakened by a second opening of the 
door. The person that now entered was M. Langlade's wife, 
who was much surprised at finding me, but advised me not to 
be uneasy, observing that the Indians had killed most of the Eng- 
lish, but that she hoped I might myself escape. A shower of 
rain having begun to fall, she had come to stop a hole in the 
roof. On her going away I begged her to send me a little 
water to drink, which she did. 

" As night was now advancing, I continued to lie on the 
bed, ruminating on my condition, but unable to discover a 
source from which I could hope for life. A flight to Detroit 
had no probable chance of success. The distance, from Mich- 
ilimackinac, was four hundred miles ; I was without provisions ; 
and the whole length of the road lay through Indian countries, 
countries of {in enemy in arms, where the first man whom I 
should meet would kill me. To stay where I was, threatened 
nearly the same issue. As before, fatigue of mind, and not 
s 



66 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



tranquility, suspended my cares, and procured me further 
sleep. 

" The respite which sleep afforded me, during the night, 
was put an end to by the return of morning. I was again on 
the rack of apprehension. At sunrise I heard the family stir- 
ring, and, presently after, Indian voices, 'informing M. Lang- 
lade that they had not found my hapless self among the dead, 
and that they supposed me to be somewhere concealed. M. 
Langlade appeared, from what followed, to be, by this time, 
acquainted with the place of my retreat, of which no doubt 
he had been informed by his wife. The poor woman, as soon 
as the Indians mentioned me, declared to her husband, in the 
French tongue, that he should no longer keep me in his house, 
but deliver me up to my pursuers ; giving as a reason for this 
measure, that should the Indians discover his instrumentality 
in my concealment, they might avenge it on her children, and 
that it was better that I should die than they. M. Langlade 
resisted, at first, this sentence of his wife's, but soon suffered 
her to prevail, informing the Indians that he had been told I 
was In the house, that I had come there without his knowledge, 
and that he would put me into their hands. This was no 
sooner expressed than he began to ascend the stairs, the 
Indians following upon his heels. 

" I now resigned myself to the fate with which I was 
menaced ; and regarding every attempt at concealment as vain, 
I arose from the bed, and presented myself full in view to the 
Indians who were entering the room. They were all in a state 
of intoxication, and entirely naked, except about the middle. 
One of them, named Wenniway, whom I had previously 
known, and who was upward of six feet in height, had his 
entire face and body covered with charcoal and grease, only 
that a white spot, of two inches in diameter, encircled either 
eye. This man, walking up to me, seized me, with one hand, 
by the collar of the coat, while in the other he held a large 
carving-knife, as if to plunge it into my breast ; his eyes, 
meanwhile, were fixed steadfastly on mine. At length, after 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 67 



some seconds of the most anxious suspense, he dropped his 
arm, saying, " I won't kill you ! " To this he added, that he 
had been frequently engaged in wars against the English, and 
had brought away many scalps ; that, on a certain occasion, he 
had lost a brother whose name was Musinigon, and that I 
should be called after him. 

" A reprieve, upon any terms, placed mc among the 
living, and gave me back the sustaining voice of hope ; but 
Wenniway ordered me down stairs, and there informing me 
that I was to be taken to his cabin, where, and indeed every- 
where else, the Indians were all mad with liquor, death again 
was threatened, and not as possible onl}', but as certain. I 
mentioned my fears on this subject to AI. Langlade, begging 
him to represent the danger to my master. M. Langlade, in 
this instance, did not withhold his compassion, and Wenniway 
immediately consented that I should remain where I was, until 
he found another opportunity to take me away. 

" Thus far secure, I re-ascended my garret stairs, in order 
to place myself the farthest possible out of the reach of insult 
from drunken Indians ; but I had not remained there more than 
an hour, when I was called to the room below, in which was 
an Indian, who said that I must go with him out of the fort, 
Wenniway having sent him to fetch me. This man, as well as 
Wenniway himself, I had seen before. In the preceding year 
I had allowed him to take goods on credit, for which he was 
still in my debt ; and some short time previous to the surprise 
of the fort he had said, upon my upbraiding him with want of 
honesty, that ' he would pay me before long ! ' This speech 
now came fresh into my memory, and led me to suspect that 
the fellow had formed a design against my life. I communi- 
cated the suspicion to M. Langlade, but he gave for answer, 
that I was not my own master, and must do as I was ordered. 

" The Indian, on his part, directed that before I left the 
house I should undress myself, declaring that my coat and 
shirt would become him better than they did me. His pleasure, 
in this respect, being complied with, no other alternative was 



68 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



left me than either to go out naked, or to put on the clothes of 
the Indian, which he freely gave me in exchange. His motive 
for thus stripping me of my own apparel, was no other, as I 
afterward learned, than this, that it might not be stained with 
blood when he should kill me. 

" I was now told to proceed, and my driver followed me 
close until I had passed the gate of the fort, when I turned 
toward the spot where I knew the Indians to be encamped.^ 
This, however, did not suit the jDurpose of my enemy, who 
seized me by the arm, and drew me violently in the opposite 
direction, to the distance of fifty yards above the fort. Here, 
finding that I was approaching the bushes and sand-hills, I 
determined to proceed no further, but told the Indian that I 
believed he meant to murder me, and that if so, he might as 
well strike where I was as at any greater distance. He re- 
plied, with coolness, that my suspicions were just, and that he 
meant to pay me, in this manner, for my goods. At the same 
time he pi^oduced a knife, and held me in a position to receive 
the intended blow. Both this, and that which followed, were 
necessarily the affair of a moment. By some effort, too sudden 
and too little dependent on thought to be explained or remem- 
bered, I was enabled to arrest his arm and give him a sudden 
push, by which I turned him from me, and released myself 
from his grasp. This was no sooner done, than I ran toward 
the fort with all the swiftness in my power, the Indian follow- 
ing me, and I expecting every moment to feel his knife. I 
succeeded in my flight, and, on entering the fort, I saw Wen- 
niway standing in the midst of the area, and to him I hastened 
for protection. Wenniway desired the Indian to desist ; but 
the latter pursued me around him, making several strokes at 
me with his knife, and foaming at the mouth, with rage at the 
repeated failure of his purpose. At length Wenniway drew 
near to M. Langlade's house, and, the door being open, I ran 
into it. The Indian followed me, but on my entering the 
house, he voluntarily abandoned the pursuit. 

" Preserved so often and so unexpectedly, as it had now 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 69 



been my lot to be, I returned to my garret with a strong in- 
clination to believe that, thx'ough the will of an overruling 
Power, no Indian enemy could do me hurt ; but new trials, as 
I believed, were at hand, when, at ten o'clock in the evening, 
I was roused from sleep and once more desired to descend the 
stairs. Not less, however, to my satisfaction than surprise, I 
was summoned only to meet Major Etherington, Mr. Bostwick, 
and Lieutenant Lesslie, who were in the room below. These 
gentlemen had been taken prisoners, while looking at the 
game, without the fort, and immediately stripped of all their 
clothes. They were now sent into the fort, under the charge 
of Canadians, because, the Indians having resolved on getting 
drunk, the chiefs were apprehensive that they would be mur- 
dered, if they continued in the camp. Lieutenant Jemette and 
sevent}' soldiers had been killed ; and but twenty Englishmen, 
including soldiers, were still alive. These were all within the 
fort, together with nearly three hundred Canadians (belonging 
to the canoes, &c.) 

" These being our numbers, myself and others proposed 
to Major Etherington to make an effort for regaining posses- 
sion of the fort, and maintaining it against the Indians. The 
Jesuit missionary was consulted on the project ; but he dis- 
couraged us by his representations, not only of the merciless 
treatment which we must expect from the Indians, should 
they i-egain their superiority, but of the little dependence which 
was to be placed upon our Canadian auxiliaries. Thus the 
fort and prisoners remained in the hands of the Indians, though, 
through the whole night, the prisoners and whites were in 
actual possession, and they were without the gates. 

" That whole night, or the greater part of it, was passed 
in mutual condolence ; and my fellow-prisoners shared my 
garret. In the morning, being again called down, I found my 
master, Wenniway, and was desired to follow him. He led 
me to a small house within the fort, where, in a narrow room, 
and almost dark, I found Mr. Ezekiel Solomons, an English- 
man from Detroit, and a soldier, all prisoners. With these, I 



yo OLD AND NEW MACKINAC, 



remained in painful suspense as to the scene that was next to 
present itself, till ten o'clock in the forenoon, when an Indian 
arrived, and presently marched us to the lake-side, where a 
canoe appeared ready for departure, and in which we found 
that we were to embark. 

" Our voyage, full of doubt as it was, would have com- 
menced immediately, but that one of the Indians, who was to 
be of the party, was absent. His arrival was to be waited for, 
and this occasioned a very long delay, during which we were 
exposed to a keen north-east wind. An old shirt was all that 
covered me. I suftered much from the cold, and in this ex- 
tremity, M. Langlade coming down to the beach, I asked him 
for a blanket, promising, if I lived, to pay him for it, at any 
price he pleased ; but the answer I received was this, that he 
could let ine have no blanket, unless there were some one to 
be security for the payment. For myself, he observed, I had 
no longer any property in that country. I had no more to say 
to M. Langlade ; but, presently seeing another Canadian, 
named John Cuchoise, I addressed him a similar request and 
was not refused. Naked as I was, and rigorous as was the 
weather, but for the blanket I must have perished. At noon 
our party was all collected, the prisoners all embarked, and we 
steered for the Isles du Castor, in Lake Michigan. 

" The soldier, who was our companion in misfortune, was 
made fast to a bar of the canoe,* by a rope tied around his 
neck, as is the manner of the Indians, in transporting their 
prisonei's. The rest were left unconfined ; but a paddle was 
put into each of our hands, and we were made to use it. The 
Indians in the canoe were seven in number ; the prisoners four. 
I had left, as it will be recollected, Maj. Etherington, Lieut. 
Lesslie, and Mr. Bostwick, at M. Langlade's, and was now 
joined in misery with Mr. Ezekiel Solomons, the soldier, and 
the Englishman, who had newly arrived from Detroit. This 
was on the sixth day of June. The fort was taken on the 
fourth ; I surrendered myself to Wenniway on the fifth ; and 
this was the third day of our distress. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 7 1 



" We were bound, as I have said, for the Isles du Castor, 
which he in the mouth of Lake Michigan ; and we slaould 
have crossed the hike, but that a thick fog came on, on account 
of which the Indians deemed it safer to keep the shore close 
under their lee. We therefore approached the lands of the 
Ottawas, and their village of L'Arbre Croche, already men- 
tioned as lying about twenty miles to the westward of Michili- 
mackinac, on the opposite side of the tongue of land on which 
the fort is built. 

" Every half hour the Indians gave their war-whoops, one 
for every prisoner in their canoe. This is a general custom, 
by the aid of which all the Indians within hearing are ap- 
prized of the number of prisoners they are canning. In this 
manner we reached Wagoshense, (Fox Point,) a long point, 
sti'etching westward into the lake, and which the Ottawas 
make a carrying-place, to avoid going round it. It is distant 
eighteen miles from Michilimackinac. After the Indians had 
made their war-whoop, as before, an Ottawa appeared upon 
the beach, who made signs that we should land. In conse- 
quence, we approached. The Ottawa asked the news, and 
kept the Chippewas in further conversation, till we were within 
a few yards of the land, and in shallow water. At this mo- 
ment, a hundred men rushed' upon us, from among the bushes, 
and dragged all the prisoners out of the canoes, amid a terrify- 
ing shout. 

" We now believed that our last sufferings were approach- 
ing ; but no sooner were we fairly on shore, and on our legs, 
than the chiefs of the party advanced and gave each of us their 
hands, telling us that they were our friends, and Ottawas whom 
the Chippewas had insulted by destroying the English without 
consulting vv^ith them on the affair. They added that what 
they had done was for the purpose of saving our lives, the 
Chippewas having been carrying us to the Isles du Castor only 
to kill and devour us. 

" The reader's imagination is here distracted by the variety 
of our fortunes, and he may well paint to himself the state of 



72 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



mind of those who sustained them ; who were tlie sport, or the 
victims, of a series of events more hke dreams than reahties — 
more like fiction than truth ! It was not long before we were 
embarked again, in the canoes of the Ottawas, who, the same 
evening, re-landed us at Michilimackinac, where they marched 
us into the fort, in view of the Chippewas, confounded at 
beholding the Ottawas espouse a side opposite to their own. 
The Ottawas, who had accompanied us in sufficient numbers, 
took possession of the fort. We, who had changed masters, 
but were still prisoners, were lodged in the house of the com- 
mandant, and strictly guarded. 

" Eai'ly the next morning, a general council was held, in 
which the Chippewas complained much of the conduct of the 
Ottawas, in robbing them of their prisoners ; alleging that all 
the Indians, the Ottawas alone excepted, were at war with the 
English ; that Pontiac had taken Detroit ; that the king of 
France had awoke and repossessed himself of Qiiebec and 
Montreal, and that the English were meeting destruction, not 
only at Michilimackinac, but in eveiy other part of the world. 
From all this they inferred that it became the Ottawas to re- 
store the prisoners and to join in the war ; and the speech was 
followed by large presents, being part of the plunder of the 
fort, and which was previously heaped in the center of the 
room. The Indians rarely make their answers till the day 
after they have heard the arguments offered. They did not 
depart from their custom on this occasion ; and the council 
therefore adjourned. 

" We, the prisoners whose fate was thus in controversy, 
were unacquainted, at the time, with this transaction ; and 
therefore enjoyed a night of tolerable tranquility, not in the 
least suspecting the reverse which was preparing for us. 
Which of the arguments of the Chippewas, or whether or not 
all were deemed valid by the Ottawas, I cannot say, but the 
council was resumed at an early hour in the morning, and, 
after several speeches had been made in it, the prisoners were 
sent for, and returned to the Chippewas. 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 73 



" The Ottawas, who now gave us into the hands of the 
Chippewas, had themselves declared that the latter designed 
no other than to kill us, and make broth of us. The Chippe- 
was, as soon as we were restored to them, marched us to a 
village of their own situate on the point which is below the 
fort, and put us into a lodge, already the prison of fourteen 
soldiers, tied two and two, with each a rope about his neck, 
and made fast to a pole which might be called the supporter of 
the building. 

" I was left untied ; but I passed a night sleepless and full 
of wretchedness. My bed was the bare ground, and I was 
again reduced to an old shirt, as my entire apparel ; the 
blanket which I had received, through the generosity of M. 
Cuchoise, having been taken from me among the Ottawas, 
when they seized upon myself and the others, at Wagoshense. 
I was, besides, in want of food, having for two days eaten 
nothing. I confess that in the canoe, with the Chippewas, I 
was oflered bread — but bread, with what accompaniment ! 
They had a loaf, which they cut with the same knives that they 
had employed in the massacre — knives still covered with blood. 
The blood they moistened with spittle, and rubbing it on the 
bread, oftered this for food to their prisoners, telling them to 
eat the blood of their countrymen. 

" Such was my situation, on the morning of the seventh 
of June, in the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty- 
three ; but a few hours produced an event which gave still a 
new color to my lot. Toward noon, when the great war-chief, 
in company with Wenniway, was seated at the opposite end of 
the lodge, my friend and brother, Wawatam, suddenly came 
in. During the four days preceding, I had often wondered 
what had become of him. In passing by, he gave me his 
hand, but went immediately toward the great chief, by the side 
of whom and Wenniway he sat himself down. The most 
uninterrupted silence prevailed ; each smoked his pipe ; and 
this done, Wawatam arose and left the lodge, saying to me, as 
he passed, ' Take courage.' 



74 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



" An hour elapsed, during which several chiefs entered, 
and preparations appeared to be making for a council. At 
length, Wawatam reentered the lodge, followed by his wife, 
and both loaded with merchandise, which they carried up to 
the chiefs, and laid in a heap before them. Some moments of 
silence followed, at the end of which Wawatam pronounced a 
speech, every word of which, to me, was of extraordinary 
interest. 

"'Friends and relations,' he began, 'what is it that I 
shall say.f* You know what I feel. You all have friends, and 
brothers, and children, whom as yourselves you love ; and you 
— what would you experience, did you like me behold your 
dearest friend, your brother, in the condition of a slave ; a 
slave, exposed every moment to insult, and to menaces of 
death .^ This case, as you all know, is mine. See there (point- 
ing to myself) my friend and brother among slaves — himself a 
slave ! 

" ' You all well know, that long before the war began, I 
adopted him as my brother. From that moment, he became 
one of my family, so that no change of circumstances could 
break the cord which fastened us together. He is my brother ; 
and because T am your relation, he is therefore your relation 
too ; — and how, being your relation, can he be your slave ? 

" ' On the day on which the war began, you were fearful, 
lest, on this very account, I should reveal your secret. You 
requested, therefore, that I would leave the fort, and even cross 
the lake. I did so ; but I did it with reluctance. I did it with 
reluctance, notwithstanding that you, Menehwehna, (Minava- 
vana,) who had the command in this enterprise, gave me your 
promise that you would protect my friend, delivering him from 
all danger, and giving him safely to me. The performance of 
this promise I now claim. I come not with empty hands to 
ask it. You, Menehwehna, best know whether or not, as it 
respects yourself, you have kept your word, but I bring these 
goods to buy oft' every claim which any man among you all 
may have on my brother, as his prisoner.' 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 75 

" Wawatam having ceased, the pipes were again filled ; 
and, after they were finished, a fi^n-ther period of silence fol- 
lowed. At the end of this, Menehwchna arose and gave his 
reply : 

'" ' My relation and brother,' said he, ' what you have 
spoken is the truth. We were acquainted with the friendship 
which subsisted between yourself and the Englishman, in 
whose behalf you have now addressed us. We knew the dan- 
ger of having our secret discovered, and the consequences 
which must follow ; and you say ti^uly, that we requested you 
to leave the fort. This we did, out of regard for you and your 
family ; for, if a discovery of our design had been made, you 
would have been blamed, whether guilty or not ; and you 
would thus have been involved in difficulties from which you 
could not have extricated yourself. 

" ' It is also true, that I promised you to take care of your 
friend ; and this promise I performed by desiring my son, at 
the moment of assault, to seek him out and bring him to my 
lodge. He went accordingly^ but could not find him. The 
day after, I sent him to Langlade's, when he was informed that 
your friend was safe ; and had it not been that the Indians were 
then drinking the rum which had been found in the fort, he 
would have brought him home with him, according to my or- 
ders. I am ve.ry glad to find that your friend has escaped. 
We accept your present ; and you may take him home with 
you.' 

" Wawatam thanked the assembled chiefs, and taking me 
by the hand, led me to his lodge, which was at the distance of 
a few yards only from the prison-lodge. My entrance appeared 
to give joy to the whole family ; food was immediately pre- 
pared for me, and I now ate the first heart}' meal which I had 
made since my capture. I found myself one of the family ; 
and but that I had still my fears as to the other Indians, I felt 
as happy as the situation could allow. 

" In the course of the next morning, I was alarmed by a 
noise in the prison-lodge ; and looking through the openings of 



76 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the lodge in which I was, I saw seven dead bodies of white 
men dragged forth. Upon my inquiry into the occasion, I was 
informed that a certain chief, called, by the Canadians, Le 
Grand Sable, had not long before arrived from his winter's 
hunt ; and that he, having been absent when the war began, 
and being now desirous of manifesting to the Indians at large 
his hearty concurrence in what they had done, had gone into 
the prison-lodge, and there, with his knife, put the seven men, 
whose bodies I had seen, to death. 

" Shortly after, two of the Indians took one of the dead 
bodies, which they chose as being the fattest, cut off the head, 
and divided the whole into five parts, one of which was put 
into each of five kettles, hung over as many fires, kindled for 
this purpose at the door of the prison-lodge. Soon after things 
were so far prepared, a message came to our lodge, with an in- 
vitation to Wawatam to assist at the feast. 

" An invitation to a feast is given by him who is the 
master of it. Small cuttings of cedar-wood, of about four 
inches in length, supply the place of cards ; and the bearer, by 
word of mouth, states the particulars. Wawatam obeyed the 
summons, taking with him, as is usual, to the place of enter- 
tainment, his dish and spoon. After an absence of about half 
an hour, he returned, bringing in his dish a human hand and a 
large piece of flesh. He did not appear to relish the repast, 
but told me that it was then, and always had been the custom, 
among all the Indian nations, when returning from war, or on 
overcoming their enemies, to make a war-feast, from among 
the slain. This, he said, inspired the warrior with courage 
in attack, and bred him to meet death with fearlessness. 

" In the evening of the same day a large canoe, such as 
those which come from Montreal, was seen advancing to the 
fort. It was full of men, and I distinguished several passen- 
gers. The Indian cry was made in the village ; a general 
muster ordered ; and, to the number of two hundred, they 
marched up to the fort, where the canoe was expected to land. 
The canoe, suspecting nothing, came boldly to the fort, where 



MASSACRE AT FORT MACKINAC. 77 



the passengers, as being English traders, were seized, dragged 
through the water, beaten, reviled, marched to the prison- 
lodge, and there stripped of their clothes and confined. 

" Of the English ti-aders that fell into the hands of the 
Indians, at the capture of the fort, Mr. Tracy was the only one 
who lost his life. Mr. Ezekiel Solomons and Mr. Henry Bost- 
wick were taken by the Ottawas, and, after the peace, carried 
down to ^Montreal, and there ransomed. Of ninety troops, 
about seventy were killed ; the rest, together with those of the 
posts in the Bay des Puants, and at the river Saint Joseph, 
were also kept in safety by the Ottawas, till the peace, and 
then either freely restored, or ransomed at Montreal. The 
Ottawas never overcame their disgust at the neglect with 
which they had been treated, in the beginning of the war, by 
those who afterward desired tlieir assistance as allies." 



7S OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER V. 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 

The peculiarities of the Indian character will readily 
explain to us the part which the Ottawas played in this transac- 
tion. They deemed it a gross insult that the Ojibwas had 
undertaken an enterprise of such vast importance without con- 
sulting them or asking their assistance. They had, therefore, res- 
cued Henry and his companions in tribulation from the hands 
of their captors and borne them back to the fort, where they 
had, to the disma}' of the Ojibwas, taken possession not only 
of the fort, but of the other prisoners also. This, however, was 
purely out of revenge to the Ojibwas, and not from an}'^ good 
will towards the prisoners. After the council of which Henry 
has told us, some of the prisoners, among whom was Henry, 
were given up, but the officers and several of the soldiei's were 
retained and carried by the Ottawas to L'Arbre Croche. Here, 
owing probably to the influence of Father Janois, they were 
treated with kindness. From this point Ethrington despatched 
two letters, one by Janois to Major Gladwyn, at Detroit, and 
the other by an Ottawa Indian to Lieutenant Gorell, at Green 
Bay. Both of these letters contained a brief account of the 
massaci'e, and an earnest entreaty for assistance. The one ad- 
di'essed to Gorell was as follows : 

" MiCHiLiMACKiNAC, June II, 1763. 

" Dear Sir : This place was taken by sm^prise on the 

fourth instant by the Chippewas, (Ojibwas,) at which time 

Lieutenant Jamette and twenty men were killed, and all the rest 

taken prisoners ; but our good friends the Ottawas have taken 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 79 



Lieutenant Leslie, me, and eleven men out of their hands, and 
have promised to reinstate us again. You'll therefore, on the 
receipt of this, which I send by a canoe of Ottawas, set out 
with all your garrison, and what English traders you have with 
you, and come with the Indian who gives you this, who will 
conduct you safe to me. You must be sure to follow the in- 
struction you receive from the bearer of this, as you arc by no 
means to come to this post before you see me at the village, 
twenty miles from this. * * * J must once more beg you'll 
lose no time in coming to join me ; at the same time be very 
careful, and always be on your guard. I long much to see you, 
and am, dear sir, 3'our most humble servant, 

" Geo. Ethrington. 
"J. GoRELL, Rojal Americans." 

When Father Janois reached Detroit he found the place 
closely besieged, and consequently no assistance could come 
from that quarter, but at Green Ba}' the case was otherwise. 
With seventeen men Lieutenant Gorell had taken possession of 
that post in 1761, and, by a system of good management, had 
succeeded in allaying the hostility of the savages and securing 
the friendship of at least a part of the tribes around him. On 
receiving Ethrington's letter Gorell told the Indians what the 
Ojibw^as had done, and that he and his soldiers were going to 
Michilimackinac to restore order, adding that, during his ab- 
sence, he commended the fort to their care. Presents were dis- 
tributed among them, and advantage taken of every circum- 
stance that could possibly be made to favor the English cause, 
so that when the party was ready to embark ninety warriors 
proposed to escort the garrison on its way. 

Arriving at L'Arbre Croche, where Captain Ethrington, 
Lieutenant Leslie, and eleven men were yet detained as pris- 
oners, Gorell received an intimation that the Ottawas intended 
to disarm his own men also, but he promptly informed them 
that such an attempt would meet with a vigorous resistance 
and the Indians desisted. Several days were now spent in hold- 



So OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



ing councils. The Indians from Green Bay requested the Ot- 
tawas to set their prisoners at Hberty, to which the latter at 
length assented. Thinking only of how they might escape the 
presence of their troublesome and treacherous foes, they prepared 
to depart. One difficulty, however, yet remained. The Ojib- 
was had declared that they would prevent the English from 
passing down to Montreal, and again they had recourse to a 
council. A reversion of feeling, as we shall soon see, had 
already taken place among the Ojibwa chiefs, and at length, 
though reluctantly, they yielded the point. On the eighteenth 
day of July, escorted by a fleet of Indian canoes, the English 
left L'Arbre Croche, and on the thirteenth day of August all 
arrived in safety at Montreal, leaving not a British soldier in the 
region of the lakes, except at Detroit. 

Let us now go back, in point of time, and hear our old 
friend Henry to the end of his story. 

" In the morning of the ninth of June, a general council 
was held, at which it was agreed to remove to the island of 
Michilimackinac, as a more defensible situation in the event of 
an attack by the English. The Indians had begun to entertain 
apprehensions of a want of strength. No news had reached 
them from the Potawatamies, in the Bay des Puants, and they 
were uncertain whether or not the Monomins would join them. 
They even feared that the Sioux would take the English side. 
This resolution fixed, they prepared for a speedy retreat. At 
noon the camp was broken up and we embarked, taking with 
us the prisoners that were still undisposed of. On our passage 
we encountered a gale of wind, and there were some appear- 
ances of danger. To avert it a dog, of which the legs were 
previously tied together, was thrown into the lake — an offering 
designed to soothe the angry passions of some offended Manito. 

"As we approached the island two women in the canoe 
in which I was began to utter melancholy and hideous cries. 
Precarious as my condition still remained, I experienced some 
sensations of alarm from these dismal sounds, of which I could 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. Si 



not then discover the occasion. Subsequently I learned that it 
is customary for the women, on passing near the burial-places 
of relations, never to omit the practice of which I was now a 
witness, and by which they intend to denote their grief. 

" By the approach of evening we reached the island in 
safety, and the women were not long in erecting our cabins. 
In the morning there was a m^uster of the Indians, at which 
there were found three hundred and fifty fighting men. In the 
course of the day there arrived a canoe from Detroit, with am- 
bassadors, who endeavored to prevail on the Indians to repair 
thither, to the assistance of Pontiac, but fear was now the pre- 
vailing passion. A guard was kept during the day and a 
watch by night, and alarms wei"e very frequently spread. Had 
an enemy appeared all the prisoners would have been put to 
death, and I suspected that, as an Englishman, I should share 
their fate. 

" Several days had now passed when, one morning, a con- 
tinued alarm prevailed, and I saw the Indians running in a con- 
fused manner towards the beach. In a short time I learned 
that two large canoes from Montreal were in sight. 

" All the Indian canoes were immediately manned, and 
those from Montreal were surrounded and seized as they turned 
a point, behind which the flotilla had been concealed. The 
goods were consigned to a Mr. Levy, and would have been 
saved if the canoe-men had called them French property, but 
they were terrified and disguised nothing. 

" In the canoes was a large proportion of liquor — a dan- 
gerous acquisition, and one which threatened disturbance among 
the Indians, even to the loss of their dearebt friends. Wawa- 
tam, always watchful of my safety, no sooner heard the noise 
of drunkenness which, in the evening, did not fail to begin, 
than he represented to me the danger of remaining in the vil- 
lage, and owned that he could not himself resist the temptation 
of joining his comrades in the debauch. That I might escape 
all mischief, he therefore requested that I would accompany 
him to the mountain, where I was to remain hidden till the 

6 



82 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



liquor should be drank. We ascended the mountain accord- 
ingly. After walking inore than half a mile we came to a 
large rock, at the base of which was an opening, dark within, 
and appearing to be the entrance of a cave. Here Wawatam 
recommended that I should take up my lodging, and by all 
means remain till he returned. 

" On going into the cave, of which the entrance was nearly 
ten feet wide, I found the further end to be rounded in its shape, 
like that of an oven, but with a further aperture, too small, 
however, to be explored. After thus looking around me, I 
broke small branches from the trees and sjDread them for a bed, 
then wrapped myself in my blanket and slept till day-break. 
On awaking I felt myself incommoded by some object upon 
which I lay, and removing it, found it to be a bone. This I 
supposed to be that of a deer, or some other animal, and what 
might very naturally be looked for in the place in which I was ; 
but when daylight visited my chamber I discovered, with some 
feelings of horror, that I was lying on nothing less than a heap 
of human bones and skulls, which covered all the floor ! 

" The day passed without the return of Wawatam, and 
without food. As night approached T found myself unable to 
meet its darkness in the charnel house, which, nevertheless, I 
had viewed free from imeasiness during the day. I chose, 
therefore, an adjacent bush for this night's lodging, and slept 
under it as before ; but in the morning I awoke hungry and 
dispirited, and almost envying the dry bones, to the view of 
which I returned. At length the sound of a foot reached me, 
and my Indian friend appeared, making many apologies for his 
long absence, the cause of which was an unfoilunate excess in 
the enjoyment of his liquor. 

" This point being explained, I mentioned the extraor- 
dinary sight that had presented itself, in the cave to which 
he had commended my slumbers. He had never heai-d of its 
existence before, and upon examining the cave together we saw 
reason to believe that it had been anciently filled with human 
bodies. 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 83 



" On returning to the lodge I experienced a cordial recep- 
tion from the family, which consisted of the wife of my friend, 
his two sons, of whom the eldest was married, and whose wife, 
and a daughter of thirteen years of age, completed the list. 

" Wawatam related to the other Indians the adventure of 
the bones. All of them expressed surprise at hearing it, and 
declared that they had never been aware of the contents of this 
cave before. After visiting it, which they immediately did, 
almost every one offered a different opinion as to its history. 
Some advanced that at a period when the waters overflowed 
tlie land, (an event which makes a distinguished figure in the 
history of their world,) the inhabitants of this island had fled 
into the cave, and been there drowned ; others, that those same 
inhabitants, when the Hurons made war upon them, (as tradi- 
tion says they did,) hid themselves in the cave, and, being dis- 
covered, were there massacred. For myself, I am disposed to 
believe that this cave was an ancient receptacle of the bones of 
prisoners sacrificed and devoured at war feasts. I have alwa3-s 
observed that the Indians pay particular attention to the bones 
of sacrifices, presersdng them unbroken and depositing them 
in some place kept exclusively for that purpose. 

" A few days after this occurrence Menehwehna (Minava- 
vana,) whom I now found to be the great chief of the village 
of Michilimackinac, came to the lodge of my friend, and when 
the usual ceremony of smoking was finished he observed that 
Indians were now daily arriving from Detroit, some of whom 
had lost relations or friends in the war, and who would cer- 
tainly retaliate on any Englishman they found, upon which 
account his errand was to advise that I should be dressed like 
an Indian, an expedient whence I might hope to escape all fu- 
ture insult. 

" I could not but consent to the proposal, and the chief was 
so kind as to assist my friend and his family in effecting that 
verv day the desired metamorphosis. My hair was cut otY, and 
my head shaved, with the exception of a spot on the crown of 
about twice the diameter of a crown piece. My face was painted 



84 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



with three or four different colors, some parts of it red, and 
others black. A shirt was provided for me, painted with Ver- 
million mixed \/ith grease. A large collar of wampum was 
put round my neck, and another suspended on my breast. 
Both my arms were decorated with large bunds of silver above 
the elbow, besides several smaller ones on the wrists ; and my 
legs were covered with mitasses^ a kind of hose, made, as is 
the favorite fashion, of scarlet cloth. Over all I was to wear a 
scarlet mantle or blanket, and on my head a large bunch of 
feathers. I parted, not without some regret, with the long hair 
which was natural to it, and which I fancied to be ornamental ; 
but the ladies of the family and of the village in general ap- 
peared to think my person improved, and now condescended 
to call me handsome, even among Indians. 

" Protected in a great measure by this disguise, I felt my- 
self more at liberty than before, and the season being arrived in 
which my clerks from the interior were to be expected, and 
some part of my property, as I had a right to hoj^e, recovered, I 
begged the favor of Wawatam that he would enable me to pay 
a short visit to Michilimackinac. He did not fail to comply, 
and I succeeded in finding my clerks ; but either through the 
disturbed state of the country, as they represented to be the 
case, or through their misconduct, as I had reason to think, I 
obtained nothing ; and nothing, or almost nothing, I now be- 
gan to think v/ould be all that I should need during the rest of 
my life. To fish and to hunt, to collect a few skins and ex- 
change them for necessaries, was all that I seemed destined to 
do and to acquire for the future. 

" I returned to the Indian village, where at this time much 
scarcity of food prevailed. We were often for twenty-four 
hours without eating, and when in the morning we had no 
victuals for the day before us, the custom was to black our 
faces with grease and charcoal, and exhibit through resignation 
a temper as cheerful as if in the midst of plenty. A repetition 
of the evil, however, soon induced us to leave the island in 
search of food, and accoi^dingly we departed for the Bay of 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 85 



Boutchitaony, distant eight leagues, and where we found plenty 
of wild fowl and fish." 

Leaving the bay just mentioned, Henry, with his friend 
Wawatam and family, came to St. Martin's Island, where, in 
the enjoyment of an excellent and plentiful supply of food, they 
remained until the twenty-sixth of August. " At this time," 
continues the narrator, "the autumn being at hand, and a sure 
prospect of increased security from hostile Indians afforded, 
Wawatam proposed going to his intended wintering-ground. 
The removal was a subject of the greatest joy to myself, on ac- 
count of the frequent insults to which I had still to submit from 
the Indians of our band or village, and to escape from which I 
would freely have gone almost anywhere. At our wintering- 
ground we were to be alone, for the Indian families in the 
countries of which I write separate in the winter season for the 
convenience as well of subsistence as of the chase, and rc-asso- 
ciate in the spring and summer. 

" In preparation, our first business was to sail for Michili- 
mackinac, where, being arrived, we procured from a Canadian 
trader, on credit, some trifling articles, together with ammuni- 
tion and two bushels of maize. This done, we steered directly 
for Lake Michigan. At L'Arbre Croche we stopped one day, 
on a visit to the Ottawas, where all the people, and particularly 
O'ki'no'chu'ma'ki, the chief — the same who took mc from the 
Chippewas — behaved with great civility and kindness. The 
chief presented me with a bag of maize." 

From L'Arbre Croche they proceeded directly to the 
mouth of the river Aux Sables, which, Henry tells us, is " on 
the southern side of the lake," and as they hunted along their 
way, Henry enjoyed a personal freedom of which he had long 
foeen deprived, and became as expert in the Indian pursuits as 
the Indians themselves. The winter was spent in the chase. 
'• By degrees," says Henry, " I became familiarized with this 
kind of life, and had it not been for the idea of which I could 
not divest my mind, that I was living among savages, and for 
the whispers of a lingering hope that I should one day be re- 



86 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



leased from it — or if I could have forgotten that I had ever been 
otherwise than as I then was — I could have enjoyed as much 
happiness in this as in any other situation." 

At the approach of spring the hunters began their prepara- 
tions for returning to Michilimackinac, but their faces were no 
sooner turned towards the scene of the massacre than all began 
to fear an attack from the English. The cause of this fear, 
Heniy tells us, was the constant dreams of the more aged wo- 
men to that effect. Henry labored, but in vain, to allay their 
fears. On the 25th day of April the little party that had col- 
lected upon the beach embarked. 

Henry writes : " At La Grande Traverse we met a lai-ge 
party of Indians, who appeared to labor, like ourselves, under 
considerable alarm, and who dared proceed no further lest they 
should be destroyed by the English. Frequent councils of the 
united bands were held, and interrogations were continually 
put to myself as to whether or not I knew of any design to at- 
tack them. I found that they believed it possible for me to 
have a foreknowledge of events, and to be informed by dreams 
of all things doing at a distance. 

" Protestations of my ignox^ance were received with but 
little satisfaction, and incurred the suspicion of a design to con- 
ceal my knowledge. On this account therefore, or because I 
saw them tormented with fears which had nothing but imagi- 
nation to rest upon, I told them at length that I knev^ there was 
no enemy to insult them, and that they might proceed to Michili- 
mackinac without danger from the English. I further, and 
with more confidence, declared that if ever my countrymen re- 
turned to Michilimackinac, I would recommend them to their 
favor, on account of the good treatment which I had received 
from them. Thus encouraged they embarked at an early hour 
the next morning. In crossing the bay we experienced a storm 
of thunder and lightning. 

" Our port was the village of L'Arbre Croche, which we 
reached in safety, and where we staid till the following day. At 
this village we found several persons .who had lately been at 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 87 



Michilimackinac, and from them wc had the satisfaction of 
learning that all was quiet there. The remainder of our voy- 
age was therefore performed with confidence. 

" In the evening of the twenty-seventh wc landed at the 
fort, which now contained only two French traders. The In- 
dians who had arrived before us were very few in number, and 
by all who were of our party I was very kindly used. I had 
the entire freedom both of the fort and camp. 

" Wawatam and myself settled our stock and paid our 
debts, and this done, I found that my share of what was left 
consisted in a hundred beaver skins, sixty raccoon skins, and six 
otter, of the toj;al value of about one hundred and sixty dollars. 
With these earnings of my winter's toil I proposed to purchase 
clothes, of which I was much in need, having been six months 
without a shirt, but on inquiring into the prices of goods I 
found that all my funds would not go far. I was able, how- 
ever, to buy two shirts, at ten pounds of beaver each ; a pair 
of leggings., or pantaloons, of scarlet cloth, which, with the 
ribbon to garnish "CciQvsx fashionably., cost me fifteen pounds of 
beaver; a blanket, at twenty pounds of beaver, and some other 
articles at proportionable rates. In this manner my wealth 
was soon reduced, but not before I had laid in a good stock of 
ammunition and tobacco. To the use of the latter I had be- 
come much attached through the winter. It was my principal 
recreation after returning from the chase, for my companions 
in the lodge wei"e unaccustomed to pass their time in conversa- 
tion. Among the Indians the topics of conversation are but 
few, and limited for the most part to the transactions of the day, 
the number of animals which they have killed, and of those 
which have escaped their pursuit, and other incidents of the 
chase. Indeed, the causes of taciturnity among the Indians 
may be easily iiiiderstood if we consider how many occasions 
of speech which present themselves to us are utterly unknown 
to them — the records of history, the pursuits of science, the 
disquisitions of philosophy, the systems of politics, the business 



88 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and the amusements of the day, and the transactions of the four 
corners of the world. 

" Eight days had passed in tranquiHty, when there arrived 
a band of Indians from the Bay of Saguenaum. They had as- 
sisted at the siege of Detroit, and came to muster as many re- 
cruits for that service as they could. For my own part, I was 
soon informed that, as I was the only Englishman in the place, 
they proposed to kill me in order to give their friends a mess " 
of English broth, to raise their courage. 

" This intelligence was not of the most agreeable kind, 
and in consequence of receiving it I requested my friend to carry 
me to the Sault de Sainte Marie, at which place I knew the 
Indians to be peaceably inclined, and that M. Cadotte enjo3'ed 
a powerful influence over their conduct. They considered M. 
Cadotte as their chief, and he was not only my friend, but a 
friend to the English. It was by him that the Chippewas of 
Lake Superior were prevented from joining Pontiac. 

" Wawatam was not slow to exert himself for my preser- 
vation, but, leaving Michilimackinac in the night, transjjorted 
mvself and all his lodge to Point St. Ignace, on the opposite 
side of the strait. Here we remained till daylight, and then 
went into the Bay of Boutchitaony, in which we spent three 
days in fishing and hunting, and where we found plenty of 
wild fowl. Leaving the bay we made for the Isle aux Ou- 
tai-des, where we were obliged to put in on account of the 
wind's coming ahead. We proposed sailing for the Sault the 
next morning. 

" But when the morning came Wawatam's wife com- 
plained that she was sick, adding that she had had bad dreams, 
and knew that if we went to the Sault we should all be de- 
stroyed. To have argued at this time against the infallibility of 
dreams would have been extremely unadvisable, since I should 
have appeared to be guilty, not only of an odious want of faith, 
but also of a still more odious want of sensibiHty to the possible 
calamities of a family which had done so much for the allevia- 
tion of mine. I was silent, but the disappointment seemed to 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 89 



seal my fate. No prospect opened to console me. To return 
to Michilimackinac could only ensure my destruction, and to 
remain at the island was to brave almost equal danger, since 
it lay in the direct route between the fort and the Missisaki, 
along which the Indians from Detroit were hourly expected to 
pass on the business of their mission. I doubted not but, tak- 
ing advantage of the solitary situation of the family, they would 
carry into execution their design of killing me. 

" Unable therefore to take any part in the direction of our 
course, but a prey at the same time to the most anxious thoughts 
as to my own condition, I passed all the day on the highest part 
to which I could climb of a tall tree, and whence the lake on 
both sides of the island lay open to my view. -Here I might 
hope to learn at the earliest possible moment the approach of 
canoes, and by this means be warned in time to conceal myself. 

" On the second morning I i^eturned, as soon as it was 
light, to my watch-tower, on which I had not been long before 
I discovered a sail, coming from Michilimackinac. The sail 
was a white one, and much larger than those usually employed 
by the northern Indians. I therefore indulged a hope that it 
might be a Canadian canoe on its voyage to INIontreal, and that 
I might be able to prevail upon the crew to take me with them, 
and thus I'elease me from all my troubles. 

" My hopes continued to gain strength, for I soon per- 
suaded myself that the manner in which the paddles were used 
on board the canoe was Canadian, and not Indian. My spirits 
were elated, but disappointment had become so usual with me 
that I could not sutler myself to look to the event with any 
strength of confidence. Enough, however, appeared at length 
to demonstrate itself to induce me to descend the tree and re- 
pair to the lodge with my tidings and schemes of liberty. The 
family congratulated me on the approach of so fair an oppor- 
tunity of escape, and my father and brother (for he was alter- 
nately each of these) lit his pipe and presented it to me, say- 
ingf 'My son, this may be the last time that ever you and I 
shall smoke out of the same pipe ! I am sorry to part with 



go OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



you. You know the affection which I have always borne you, 
and the clangers to which I have exposed myself and family to 
preserve you from your enemies, and I am happy to find that 
my efforts promise not to have been in vain.' At this time a 
boy came into the lodge, informing us that the canoe had come 
from Michilimackinac, and was bound to the Sault de Sainte 
Marie. It was manned by three Canadians, and was carrying 
home Madame Cadotte, wife of M. Cadotte, already mentioned. 

"My hopes of going to Montreal being now dissipated, I 
resolved on accompanying Madame Cadotte, with her permis- 
sion, to the Sault. On communicating my wishes to Madame 
Cadotte, she cheei-fully acceded to them. Madame Cadotte, as 
I have already mentioned, was an Indian woman of the Chip- 
pewa nation, and she was very generally respected. 

" My departure fixed upon, I returned to the lodge, where 
I packed up my wardrobe, consisting of m}'' two shirts, pair of 
leggings^ and blanket. Besides these I took a gun and ammu- 
nition, presenting what remained ftirther to my host. I also 
returned the silver arm-bands, with which the family had 
decorated me the year before. 

" We now exchanged farewells, with an emotion entirely 
reciprocal. I did not quit the lodge without the most grateful 
sense of the many acts of goodness which I had experienced in 
it, nor without the sincerest respect for the virtues which I had 
witnessed among its members. All the family accompanied 
me to the beach, and the canoe had no sooner put oft' than Wa- 
watam commenced an address to the Ki'chi Ma'ni'to, beseech- 
ing him to take care of me, his brother, till we should next 
meet. This, he had told me, would not be long, as he intend- 
ed to return to Michilimackinac for a short time only, and then 
would follow me to the Sault. We had proceeded to too great 
a distance to allow of our hearing his voice, before Wawatam 
had ceased to offer up his prayers. 

" Being now no longer in the society of Indians, I laid 
aside the dress putting on that of a Canadian — a molton or 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 9 1 



blanket coat over my shirt, and a handkerchief about my head, 
hats being very little worn in this country. 

" At daybreak on the second morning of our voyage we 
embarked, and presently perceived several canoes behind us. 
As they approached we ascertained them to be the fleet bound 
for the Missisaki, of which I had been so long in dread. It 
amounted to twenty sail. On coming up with us and sur- 
rounding our canoe, and amid general inquiries concerning the 
news, an Indian challenged me for an Englishman, and his 
companions supported him by declaring that I looked very like 
one ; but I aflected not to understand any of the questions which 
they asked me, and Madame Cadotte assured them that I was 
a Canadian whom she had brought on his first voyage from 
Montreal. 

" The following day saw us safely landed at the Sault, 
where I experienced a generous welcome from M. Cadotte. 
There were thirty warriors at this place, restrained from join- 
ing in the war only by M. Cadotte's influence. Here for five 
days I was once more in the possession of tranquility, but on 
sixth a young Indian came into ]\I. Cadotte's saying that a ca- 
noe full of warriors had just arrived from jSIichilimackinac ; 
that they had inquired for me, and that he believed their inten- 
tions to be bad. Nearly at the same time a message came from 
the good chief of the village, desiring me to conceal myself un- 
til he should discover the views and temper of the strangers. 
A garret was a second time my place of refuge, and it was not 
long before the Indians came to M. Cadotte's. My friend im- 
mediately informed Mut'chi'ki'wish, their chief, who was re- 
lated to his wife, of the design imputed to them of mischief 
against myself Mutchikiwish frankly acknowledged that they 
had had such a design, but added that, if displeasing to M. Ca- 
dotte, it should be abandoned. He then further stated that 
their errand was to raise a party of warriors to return with 
them to Detroit, and that it had been their intention to take me 
with them. 

" In regard to the principal of the two objects thus dis- 



92 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



closed, M. Cadotte proceeded to assemble all the chiefs and 
warriors of the village, and these, after deliberating for some 
time among themselves, sent for the strangers, to whom both 
M. Cadotte and the chief of the village addressed a speech. 
In these speeches, after recurring to the designs confessed to 
have been entertained against myself, who was now declared 
to be under the immediate protection of all the chiefs, by whom 
any insult I might sustain would be avenged, the ambassadors 
were peremptorily told that they might go back as they came, 
none of the young men of this village being foolish enough to 
join them. 

" A moment after a report was brought that a canoe had 
just arrived from Niagara. As this was a place from which 
every one was anxious to hear news, a message was sent to 
these fresh strangers, requesting them to come to the council. 
They came accordingly, and being seated, a long silence en- 
sued. At length one of them, taking up a belt of wampum, 
addressed himself thus to the assembly : ' My friends and broth- 
ers, I am come with this belt from our great father. Sir William 
Johnson. He desired me to come to you, as his ambassador, 
and tell you that he is making a great feast at Fort Niagara ; 
that his kettles are all ready and his fires lit. He invites you 
to partake of the feast in common with your friends the Six 
Nations, which have all made peace with the English. He 
advises you to seize this opportunity of doing the same, as you 
cannot otherwise fail of being destroyed, for the English are on 
their march with a great army, which will be joined by differ- 
ent nations of Indians. In a word, before the fall of the leaf 
they will be at Michilimackinac, and the Six -Nations with 
them.' 

" The tenor of this speech greatly alarmed the Indians of 
the Sault, who, after a very short consultation, agreed to send 
twenty deputies to Sir William Johnson, at Niagara. This 
was a project highly interesting to me, since it offered me the 
means of leaving the country. I intimated this to the chief of 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 93 



the village, and received his promise that I should accompany 
the deputation. 

" Very little time was proposed to be lost in setting for- 
ward on the voyage ; but the occasion was of too much mag- 
nitude not to call for more than human knowledge and 
discretion ; and preparations were accordingly made for sol- 
emnly invoking and consulting the Great Turtle. In this, 
the first thing to be done was the building of a large house or 
wigwam, within which was placed a species of tent, for the 
use of the priest, and reception of the spirit. The tent was 
formed of moose-skins, hung over a frame-work of wood. 
Five poles, or rather pillars, of five different species of timber, 
about ten feet in height, and eight inches in diameter, were set 
in a circle of about four feet in diameter. The holes made to 
receive them were about two feet deep ; and the pillars bemg 
set, the holes were filled up again with the earth which had 
been dug out. At top the pillars w^ere bound together by a 
circular hoop, or girder. Over the whole of this edifice were 
spread the moose-skins, covering it at top and round the sides, 
and made fixst with thongs of the same ; except that on one 
side a part was left unfastened, to admit of the entrance of the 
priest. 

" The ceremonies did not commence but with the approach 
of night. To give light within the house, several fires were 
kindled round the tent. Nearly the whole village assembled 
in the house, and myself among the rest. It was not long 
before the priest appeared, almost in a state of nakedness. As 
he approached the tent the skins were lifted up as much as was 
necessary to allow of his creeping under them, on his hands 
and knees. His head was scarcely within side, when the edi- 
fice, massy as it has been described, began to shake ; and the 
skins were no sooner let fall, than the sounds of numerous 
voices were heard beneath them ; some yelling ; some barking 
as dogs ; some howling like wolves ; and in this horrible con- 
cert were mingled screams and sobs, as of despair, anguish, 
and the sharpest pain. Articulate speech was also uttered, as 



94 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



if from human lips, but in a tongue unknown to any of the 
audience. 

" After some time, these confused and frightful noises were 
succeeded by a perfect silence ; and now a voice, not heard 
before, seemed to manifest the arrival of a new character in 
tlie tent. This was a low and feeble voice, resembling the cry 
of a young puppy. The sound was no sooner distinguished, 
than all the Indians clapped their hands for joy, exclaiming 
that this was the Chief Spirit — the Turtle — the spirit that 
never lied ! Other voices, which they had discriminated from 
time to time, they had previously hissed, as recognizing them 
to belong to evil and lying spirits, which deceive mankind. 
New sounds came from the tent. During the space of half an 
hour a succession of songs were heard, in which a diversity of 
voices met the ear. From his first entrance, till these songs 
were finished, we heard nothing in the proper voice of the 
priest ; but now he addressed the multitude, declaring the 
presence of the Great Turtle, and the spirit's readiness to 
answer such questions as should be proposed. 

" The questions were to come from the chief of the vil- 
lage, v\^ho was silent, however, till after he had put a large 
quantity of tobacco into the tent, introducing it at the aperture. 
This was a sacrifice, offered to the spirit ; for spirits are sup- 
posed by the Indians to be as fond of tobacco as themselves. 
The tobacco accepted, he desired the priest to inquire, — 
Whether or not the English were preparing to make war upon 
the Indians ? and, whether or not there were at Fort Niagara 
a large number of English troops ? These questions having 
been put by the priest, the tent instantly shook ; and for some 
seconds after, it continued to I'ock so violently that I expected 
to see it levelled with the ground. All this was a prelude, as 
I supposed, to the answers to be given ; but a terrific cry 
announced, with sufficient intelligibility, the departure of the 
Turtle. 

" A quarter of an hour elapsed in silence, and I waited 
impatiently to discover what was to be the next incident in 



ESCAPE OP' HENRY AND OTHERS. 95 



tliis scene of imposture. It consisted in the return of the 
spirit, whose voice was again heard, and who now dehvered a 
continued speech. The language of the Great Turtle, like 
that which we had heard before, was wholly unintelligible to 
every ear, that of the priest excepted ; and it was, therefore, 
not till the latter gave us an interpretation, which did not com- 
mence before the spirit had finished, that we learned the pur- 
port of tliis extraordinary communication. 

" The spirit, as we were now informed by the priest, had, 
during his short absence, crossed Lake Huron, and even pro- 
ceeded as far as Fort Niagara, which is at the head of Lake 
Ontario, and thence to Montreal. At Fort Niagara he had 
seen no great number of soldiers ; but, on descending the St. 
Lawrence as low as Montreal, he had found the river covered 
with boats, and the boats filled with soldiers, in number like 
the leaves of the trees. He had met them on their way up the 
river, coming to make war upon the Lidians. 

" The chief had a third question to propose, and the spirit, 
without a fresh journey to Fort Niagai-a, was able to give it an 
instant and most favorable answer. ' If,' said the chief, ' the 
Indians visit Sir William Johnson, will they be received as 
friends .'' ' 

" ' Sir William Johnson,' said the spirit, (and after the 
spirit, the priest,) ' Sir William Johnson will fill their canoes 
with presents : with blankets, kettles, guns, gunpowder and 
shot, and large barrels of rum, such as the stoutest of the 
Indians will not be able to lift ; and every man will return in 
safety to his family,' At this the transport was universal, and, 
amid the clapping of hands, a hundred voices exclaimed. ' I 
will go too ! I will go too ! ' 

" The questions of public interest being resolved, individ- 
uals were now permitted to seize the opportunity of inquiring 
into the condition of their absent friends, and the fate of such 
as were sick. I observed that the answers given to these ques- 
tions allowed of much latitude of interpretation. 

" The Great Turtle continued to be consulted till near 



g6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



midnight, when all the crowd dispersed to their respective 
lodges. 

" I was on the watch, through the scene I have described, 
to detect the particular contrivances by which the fraud was 
carried on ; but, such was the skill displayed in the perform- 
ance, or such my deficiency of penetration, that I made no 
discoveries, but came away, as I went, with no more than those 
general surmises which will naturally be entertained by every 
reader." 

Henry accompanied the Indian deputation, and reached 
Fort Niagara in safety, where he was received in the most 
cordial manner by Sir William Johnson. Thus he escaped 
the sufferings and dangers which the capture of Michilimack- 
inac had brought upon him. 

The reader will doubtless be interested to know the fate of 
Minavavana, or the Gi'and Sautor, as he was otherwise called, 
who led the Ojibwas at the massacre of Michilimackiiiac. 
The following notice of this chief is from the pen of J. Car- 
ver, Esq., an English gentleman who visited Michilimackinac 
in the year 1766, three years after the massacre : 

" The first I accosted were Chippewas, inhabiting near 
the Ottowan lakes ; who received me with great cordiality, 
and shook me by the hand in token of friendship. At some 
little distance behind these, stood a chief, remarkably tall and 
well made, but of so stern an aspect that the most undaunted 
person could not behold him without feeling some degree of 
terror. He seemed to have passed the meridian of life, and 
by the mode in which he was painted and tatooed, 1 discov- 
ered that he was of high rank. However, I approached him 
in a courteous manner, and expected to have met with the 
same reception I had done from the others ; but to my great 
surprise, he withheld his hand, and looking fiercely at me, 
said in the Chippewa tongue, ' C«urin nishishin saganosh,' 
that is, ' The English are no good.' As he had his tomahawk 
in his hand, I expected that this laconic sentence would have 
been followed by a blow ; to prevent which I drew a pistol 



ESCAPE OF HENRY AND OTHERS. 97 



from my belt, and holding it in a careless position, passed close 
by him, to let him see I was not afraid of him. 

" I learned soon after, from the other Indians, that this was 
a chief called by the French the Grand Sautor, or the Great 
Chippewa Chief, for they denominate the Chippewas, Sautors. 
They likewise told me that he had been always a steady friend 
to that people, and when they delivered up Michilimackinac to 
the English on their evacuation of Canada, the Grand Sautor 
had sworn that he w^ould ever remain the avowed enemy of its 
new possessors, as the territories on which the fort is built 
belonged to him. 

" Since I came to England I have been informed that the 
Grand Sautor, having rendered himself more and more dis- 
gustful to the English by his inveterate enmity towards them, 
was at length stabbed in his tent, as he encamped near Michili- 
mackinac, by a trader." 

For a little more than a year after the massacre, Mackinac 
was only occupied by the coureurs de bois and such Indian 
bands as chose to make it a temporary residence ; but after the 
treaty with the Indians, Captain Howard, with a sufficiently 
large detachment of troops, was sent to take jDossession of it, 
and " once more the cross of St. George was a rallying point 
and the protection of the adventurous traders. 

" In 1779 ^ P^^'ty of British officers passed over from the 
point of the peninsula to the island of Michilimackinac, to 
reconnoiter, with the intention of removing the fort thither. 
After selecting a location, they asked permission of the Indians 
to occupy it. Some time elapsed before their consent could be 
obtained ; consequently the removal was not' effected until the 
ensuing summer. A government house and a few other build- 
ings were erected, on the site of the present village, and the 
troops took possession on the 15th of Jul}', 17S0. 

" The removal of the inhabitants from the main-land to 
the island was gradual, and the fort, which was built on the 
site of the present one, was not completed until 17S3." 



98 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER VI, 



WAR OF 181 3. 

When the war of 1S13 broke out, the territoiy of Michigan 
was in a defenseless condition. The military posts about the 
lakes were but poorly fortified, and manned with insufficient 
garrisons. They were situated in the midst of almost impene- 
trable forests, filled with hostile savages, while at no great 
distance was a large body of British subjects who could easily 
be brought against them. 

The garrison of Fort ISIackinac, at the time, consisted of 
only fifty-seven effective men, under the command of Lieuten- 
ant Hanks. The fort itself was mainly the same as now. 
The walls which had been built by the British in 1780, and 
which are still standing, wei^e surmounted by a palisade of 
cedar pickets about ten feet high, intended as a defense against 
the Indians. To make it impossible to scale this palisade, each 
picket was protected at the top by iron prongs, made sharp, 
and by hooks on the outside. Through it were numerous j^ort- 
holes, through which a leaden shower of death might be made 
to pour upon any foe that should dare to come in reach. Two 
or three guns of small calibre were planted at convenient jilaces 
upon the walls, and one small piece in each of the three block- 
houses which are yet standing. The town, at the time, was 
much smaller than now. Except the old distillery which stood 
upon the beach some little distance beyond the present western 
limits of Shanty Town, no building had been erected west of 
the house now occupied by Mr. Ambrose Davenport, and none 
east of the fort garden except one small shanty which stood 
near the present site of the old Mission Church. With one 



THE WAR OF l8l2. 



99 



exception, the houses were all one story buildings, built of 
cedar and roofed with cedar bark. This one house which 
formed the exception was then occupied by a Dr. Mitchell, 
and is still standing. The several traders then on the island 
had each what might be called a store, and there was one 
dock, so called, which consisted of two cribs filled with stone, 
and connected with each other and with the beach by two logs 
placed side by side. 

In 1795, when the British gave up Fort Mackinac to the 
Americans, they repaired to the island of St. Joseph, which is 
situated in St. Mary's River, about twenty miles above Detour, 
and there constructed a fort. This fort was garrisoned, at the 
commencement of the war, by a small company of British 
regulars, under command of Captain Roberts. 

When war was declared, there was an unpardonable neg- 
ligence on the part of the War Department in not furnishing 
the western fi-ontiers with information of that important event. 
Owing to this negligence, the English at Detroit were in pos- 
session of this important news before it reached the American 
side, and the English commander, taking advantage of that 
fact, hastened to transmit the intelligence to all his out-posts 
and take such steps as would best secure the interests of the 
British crown. Among his expedients was a plan for an im- 
mediate attack on Fort Mackinac. With almost incredible 
dispatch, a messenger was sent to St. Joseph, bearing a letter 
to Captain Roberts, which, strange to say, was franked by 
the Secretary of the American Treasury^ containing the 
information of the declaration of war, and also the suggestion 
of an immediate attack on this fort as the best means of 
defending his own. 

Roberts was but poorly prepared for an enterprise of such 
moment, yet, entering warmly into the views of his superior 
officer, and being cordially supported by the agents of the two 
western Fur Companies, he was not long in deciding upon his 
course. Messengers were hastily dispatched to the Ottawas 
and Chippewas, two neighboring Indian tribes, who, eager for 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



strife, soon flocked to his standard in large numbers. The 
French, jealous of the Americans, still farther augmented his 
strength, and, in the short space of eight days, he had a force, 
naval and military, of more than a thousand, at his command. 
On the 1 6th day of July he embarked. 

Let us now turn our attention to Fort Mackinac. The 
first intimation which the little garrison and town received that 
all was not right, was from the conduct of the Indians. In 
obedience to the summons of Captain Roberts, they were going 
toward the Sault in large numbers. This caused some uneasi- 
ness, and Lieutenant Hanks, with the citizens of the place, 
made every effort to learn from them the object of their jour- 
ney. Several councils were called, but in vain. See'gee'noe, 
chief of the Ottawas, was questioned closely, but not a word 
could be elicited from him which in any way explained their 
conduct. This caused the cloud of uncertainty to lower, and 
made the anxiety of the citizens more and inore painful. 
Failing to get any satisfaction from the Indians, they next 
called a public meeting of the citizens, to consult upon the 
inatter, and it was resolved to make yet another effort to un- 
ravel the m^'stery. 

Mr. Michael Dousman, an American fur trader, had some 
time before sent two of his agents, William Aikins and John 
Drew, into the Lake Superior region to trade with the Indians 
for furs. He had heard of their return to the Sault, but knew 
of no reason why they had not returned to headquarters on 
this island. He therefore, on the i6th of July, under pretence 
of ascertaining the reason for the delay, but really to learn 
what it was that called so many of the Indians in that direc- 
tion, set out for the Sault, starting about noon. When four or 
five miles this side of Detour, he learned the whole truth, for, 
meeting Captain Roberts' expedition, he was taken prisoner, 
barely escaping with his life. 

When night had let her sable curtain fall over the wide 
expanse of water and forest, and the expedition was nearing 
the island, it was proposed by Captain Robei'ts to send one 



THE WAR OF lSl2. lOI 



Oliver, a British trader, to the people of the town, to inform 
them of his approach and conduct them to a place of safety. 
Mr. Dousman now urged upon Captain Roberts that the peo- 
ple would perhaps be slow to believe such a report from a 
stranger, and, anxious for the safety of his friends, asked leave 
to return on that mission himself. This he was permitted to 
do, having first taken oath that he would not give information 
of their approach to the garrison. Separating himself from 
his captors, he returned to the harbor in front of the town, 
and, an hour before day, proceeded to the house of Mr. Am- 
brose R. Davenport, and rapped loudly at the door. Mr. 
Davenport, on learning who was at the door, exclaimed, 
" What, Dousman, have you come back ! " and rising hastily, 
came out. " Yes," replied Dousman, " I have come back, and 
I have important news for you." After extorting from him a 
promise of secresy, he proceeded to inform him that war had 
been declared^ and that the British had come to take the fort, 
being already upon the island. Judge of the surprise, wc may 
say indignation, of the citizens, as, one by one, they received 
the information. We can well imagine that there was hurry- 
ing to and fro through the streets of Mackinac on that eventful 
morning. Fifty-eight years have run their courses and nearly 
tw^o generations of the human family have passed away since 
that time, and yet we can see the anxious faces that looked out 
from every door and window as the unwelcome news was 
whispered in the ears of startled sleepers. " What can it 
mean ! " is eagerly and simultaneously asked by every two that 
meet, but not a man in Mackinac can unravel the mystery. 
Word is circulated that if the citizens will flee to the distillery 
they shall be safe. Like wild-fire the message goes from 
mouth to mouth, until every man, woman and child is on the 
way to the place designated. 

Aleanwhile, Cai:)tain Roberts proceeded to the north-west 
side of the island, landed his forces, and began his march 
toward the fort. At the farm near the landing they took pos- 
session of a number of cattle belonging to J^Iichael Dousman, 



I02 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



who then owned the farm, and before the dawn of day reached 
the hollow which may be seen a short distance to the rear of 
the fort. Upon a little ridge which separates this hollow from 
the parade ground (and only a few paces from it) they planted 
a gun in the road, and anxiously awaited the approach of day. 
Inside the fort, all was the most perfect quiet, not a sus- 
picion that the war bugle had been blown found a place in a 
single bosom, though the enemy's gun was even then pointing 
over them at the distance of but a fe^v rods. The dawn 
appeared, and the imsuspecting garrison began to move. As 
Lieutenant Hanks looked out from his quarters, (the same as 
are now occupied by the commanding officer,) he was struck 
with the imusual quiet that prevailed in the tovvn below. 
What could it mean ? No smoke went cin^ling gracefully up- 
ward to the sky as usual, and no hurried footsteps were in the 
streets. Strange ! Something evidently was wrong, and sum- 
moning Lieutenant Darrow, he oi'dered him with two men to 
go down and ascertain what it might be. Accordingly this 
officer descended to the town, to search for the trouble. He 
proceeded on his way until he, too, had arrived at the distillery, 
when the truth flashed upon him. Under a strong guard 
which had been sent by Captain Roberts, the inhabitants of the 
place were awaiting the decision that would again make them 
subjects of the British crown. Darrow entered the distillery 
and shook hands with its inmates, but when he proposed to 
return to the fort, the guards proposed to make him prisoner. 
Taking a pistol in each hand, and demanding permission to 
retire, he faced the guard, and, followed by his men, walked 
backwards till beyond their reach, when he returned without 
molestation to the fort. 

But Lieutenant Hanks had no need of waiting for the 
return of Darrow to know tlie truth, for the sharp report of a 
British gun soon told him all, and more than all, that he wished 
to know ; and before the distant forests had ceased to reecho 
the sound, or the smoke of that unwelcome svmrise gun was 
lost in the azvu^e vault of heaven, a British officer, with flag in 



THE WAR OF lSl2. IO3 



hand, appeared and demanded a surrender, emphasizing the 
demand by a statement of the overwhehning numbers of the 
invading army and a threat of indiscriminate slaughter by the 
savages at the first motion toward resistance. 

When the inhabitants of the town had been gathered 
under guard at the distillery, Messrs. Davenport, Abbot, Bost- 
wick, Stone, and John Doiisman, who were among the leading 
citizens, were advised to go at once to the landing and give 
themselves up to Colonel Dickson, who had been left at that 
point by Captain Roberts for that purpose. This they accord- 
ingly did. They were then urged by Colonel Dickson to 
petition Lieutenant Hanks to surrender the fort at once, stating 
that the Indians would be entirely unmanageable in case there 
should be any resistance. This advice they also followed. 

The position in which Hanks was now placed can be 
easily imagined. Not having received intelligence of the 
declaration of war, he was wholly off his guard, and unpre- 
pared to defend himself. The British troops, though less in 
number than the garrison under his command, had a position 
which commanded the fort, and were supported by nearly a 
thousand Indian warriors, who had been instructed to show no 
mercy in case that any resistance was made. Such being the 
case. Lieutenant Hanks surrendered the fort without even the 
ceremony of a refusal, and his men were paroled and sent to 
Detroit. 

Some blame has been attached to the conduct of Lieuten- 
ant Hanks in this transaction. It has been claimed that, to 
say the least, the surrender was precipitate ; that some experi- 
ment of the enemy's power to take the fort was due to the 
honor of the American flag, and ought to have been made, and 
that the result would probably have shown " that an invading 
corps, composed of thirty regulars and a rabble of engag(5s 
and savages, with two old rusty guns of small calibre, was 
much less formidable than had been imagined." This seems 
very plausible, especially to those who are unacquainted with 
the savage barbarities of Indian warfare, but when it is con- 



I04 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



sidered that the first act of resistance would probably have 
been the signal for the uplifting of a thousand tomahawks and 
the brandishing of a thousand scalping-knives, we hesitate to 
condemn the conduct of Lieutenant Hanks in thus promptly 
making the surrender. 

Some one was doubtless to blame. It was an unpardon- 
able oversight that inforimation of the existence of war was not 
immediately transmitted to the fort, and thorough preparation 
made for its defense. It was not, perhaps, the most flattering 
indication of good generalship that Lieutenant Hanks should 
permit himself to be thus surprised. He was on the extreme 
frontier, surrounded by Indian nations whom he knew to be 
unfriendl}' and treacherous, and but a few miles distant from 
the inveterate enemies of the American flag, whose wounded 
pride made them as unscrupulous as the savages themselves, 
and he should not have allowed himself to be thus surjDrised. 
Under these unfavorable circumstances, his vigilance ought to 
have saved him from the humiliating necessity of surrender ; 
but after the English had planted their guns almost beneath the 
shadow of the fort, and the assembled savages, with imple- 
ments of death in their hands, stood ready and eager, if occa- 
sion should offer, to repeat the bloody scenes of 1763 at Old 
Mackinac, was it not wise in him to make a virtue of necessity 
and permit the English to take peaceable ^^ossession of the 
fort and the island.? We leave the reader to judge for him- 
self in the premises. 

When the fort had been surrendered, the next step was to 
assemble the citizens at the government house, and administer 
to them the oath of allegiance to the British crown. Most of 
them willingly took this oath, but Messrs. Davenport, Bost- 
wick. Stone, Abbot, and the Dousman brothers refused to turn 
traitors to the country of their choice. With the exception of 
Michael Dousman, who was permitted to remain neutral, these 
men were immediately sent away with the soldiers, and were 
not permitted to return till after the declaration of peace. 

The services of Captain Roberts and his men in thus sur- 



THE WAR OF lSl2. lO^ 



prising and capturing Fort Mackinac, were highly ai:)preciated 
and liberally rewarded by the British government. Prize 
money to the amount of ten thousand pounds was divided 
among the volunteers and soldiers, and merchandise and firms 
distributed to the Indians. Sir William Johnson, Esq., as quoted 
in " Old Mackinaw," tells us that, in 1S36, he "examined the 
list or pay-roll for this prize-money ; the names of all those who 
participated in the taking of Fort Mackinac were there en- 
rolled, the money was divided according to rank, and each 
person receipted for his individual share." 

Having thus easily and cheaply succeeded in wresting 
from the American people their most important western mili- 
tary position, the English at once set about the work of 
strengthening themselves in their new possession. Fearing 
that they would not be able to hold what they had so easily 
gained, they hastened to construct a fortification on the crown- 
ing point of the island, which, in honor of their reigning sove- 
reign, they dignified with the title of Fort George. The 
remains of this old fort, now called Fort Holmes, may still be 
seen, and, from its historical associations, it is a place of much 
interest. 



Io6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER VII. 



WAR OF l8l3, CONCLUDED. 

DuKiNG the jDrogress of the war, important changes took 
place in the Territory of Michigan. Fort Dearborn, on the 
south-western extremity of Lake Michigan, was forgotten ahke 
by the government and by General Hull, until about the middle 
of Jidy, when Captain Heald, its commander, was ordered to 
" dismantle the fort, destroy the surplus arms and ammunition 
and withdraw the garrison to Detroit." But in the attempt to 
execute this order the displeasure of the Indians was incurred, 
and the whole garrison either killed or taken prisoners. 
Through the ignorance and cowardice of General Hull, the 
whole territory was finally surrendered to the English ; but the 
disgraceful act roused such a feeling of indignation in the 
West, that every man's cheek burned with shame, and ten 
thousand men sprang to arms, eager for a sight of the foe. 
General Harrison was placed in command, and the tide of 
victor}' soon turned in favor of the American cause. 

On the tenth day of September, 1S13, Commodore Perry 
gained his brilliant victor}^ on Lake Erie. This again opened 
the way to the territory abandoned by Hull, and Harrison 
pressed on to occupy it. The British army retreated before 
him and he entered Detroit. On the fifth of October, a decis- 
ive victory was gained over the combined British and Indian 
forces, known as the victory of the Thames, in which Tecum- 
seh, the great Indian war-chief, was slain. The death of this 
chief broke up the alliance of the western tribes and opened 
the way for treaties of peace. 

So far as the North-west was concerned, the war was now 



THE WAR OF lSr2, CONCLUDED. I07 



practically closed, yet there was one post of great importance 
which had not been wrested from the English. That post was 
at the liead of the lakes and was virtually the key of the West. 
Active steps were soon taken to dispossess the English of this 
stronghold and drive them wholly from the American soil. 
Immediately after the battle of the Thames, an expedition to 
the upper lakes was contemplated, but, unfortunately, it was 
prevented by the non-arrival of two schooners — the Chippeway 
and Ohio — which had been sent to Cleveland and Bass Islands 
for provisions. These vessels had arrived oft' Maiden, but a 
storm from the west dro\e them to the lower end of the lake, 
where they were stranded. 

Early in the following April, 1S14, this expedition up 
Lake Huron was again proposed, the object being twofold — 
the capture of Fort Mackinac and the destruction of certain 
vessels which it was said the English were building in Glou- 
cester, or jMatchadash Bay, at the south-east extremity of the 
lake. But this plan was also abandoned, partly from a want 
of men, partly from the belief that Great Britain did not, as 
had been supposed, intend to make an eflbrt to regain the com- 
mand of the upper lakes, and partly also from a misunder- 
standing between General Harrison and Colonel Croghan, who 
commanded at Detroit, on the one hand, and the Secretary of 
War, on the other. No sooner, however, had the plan of 
April been abandoned that it was revived again, in conse- 
quence of new information of the establishment at Ivlatchadash 
Bay. 

In obedience to orders issued upon the second day of June, 
ample preparations were soon made. A squadron was fitted 
out, consisting of the United States sloops of war Niagara and 
Lawrence, carrying twenty guns each, with the smaller schoon- 
ers Caledonia, Scorpion, Tigress, Detroit, and others, and a 
land force of seven hundred and fifty men placed on board. 
Commodore Sinclair was the naval commander, and Lieut. 
Col. Croghan, a young man who had gallantly and success- 
fully defended Sandusky during the early part of the war, had 



Io8 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



charge of the militia. Ambrose R. Davenport who, two 
years before had been sent away from Mackinac on account of 
his loyalty, was chosen to accompany the expedition as quar- 
termaster and guide. On the third day of July, when all was 
ready and fair winds had proffered their needed assistance, the 
sails were spread and the fleet sped joyfulh^ on its course. Dif- 
ficulties encountered on the flats of Lake St. Clair, and the 
rapid current of the river prevented the squadron from reach- 
ing Lake Huron till the 12th. High hopes of success and 
bright anticipations of glory, cheered the hearts of officers and 
men as that fleet of sloops and schooners, the largest that had 
ever ventured out upon the bosom of Lake Huron, proudly 
shajDed its course for Matchadash Bay. DisapjDointment, how- 
ever, awaited them. Every possible effort was made to gain 
the desired bay and destroy the imaginary vessels there build- 
ing, but in vain. No pilot could be found for that unfre- 
quented part of the lake. Islands and sunken rocks were nu- 
mei'ous and threatened destruction to the fleet. The lake was 
almost continually covered with an impenetrable fog and from 
the time already consumed in the fruitless attempt, the provis- 
ions of the army were growing short, hence that part of the 
work was abandoned and the squadron pushed on toward the 
head waters of Huron. 

When nearing the place of destination, a council was 
called to decide whether they should proceed at once to the 
capture of Fort Mackinac, or first repair to St. Joseph's and 
destroy the enemy's works at that point. It was urged that an 
immediate attack upon the fort was policy, inasmuch as the 
English, having had no intimation of their approach, were 
probably without Indian allies, and unprepared to defend the 
island ; that, should they first proceed to St. Joseph's, time 
would thus be given the English to call in these savage auxili- 
aries, and so strengthen themselves that, upon their return, it 
would be difficult, if not impossible, to take the place. But 
Sinclair thought that, by leaving a part of the squadron to 
cruise round the island during his absence, this could be pre- 



THE AVAR OF lSl2, CONCLUDED. IO9 



vented ; hence, in spite of salutary advice from those who 
knew the Indian character far better than themselves, it was 
agreed between the naval and military commanders to proceed 
at once to St. Joseph's. This was a fatal error. As well at- 
tempt to prevent insects from flying through the air by liolding 
up the hand as to think of hindering Indians in their approach 
to the island witli two or three gun boats anchored in as many 
different places about it. 

On the 20th of July, the}' arrived at St. Joseph's and found 
the British establishment at that point deserted. This they 
burned, but left untouched the town and North-West Com- 
pany's storehouses. While windbound at this point, Sinclair 
captured the North-West Company's schooner Mink, from 
Mackinac to St. JNIary's with a cargo of flour, and by this 
means received intelligence that the schooner Perseverance 
was lying above the Falls of St. Mary, at the foot of Lake 
Superior, in waiting to transport the Mink's cargo to Fort Wil- 
liams. 

Upon the receipt of this information, he dispatched Lieut. 
Turner, an active and enterprising officer, to capture her, and, 
if possible, get her down the foils. Col. Croghan attached 
Major Holmes with a party of regulars to cooperate in the ex- 
pedition, in which the captui'e of St. Mary's was included. 
The following official report of Lieut. Turner to Sinclair will 
give the reader a clear idea of what was effected by this move- 
ment. It is dated U. S. Schooner Scorpion, off' ISIichilimacki- 
nac,July 3Sth, 1S14: 

" Sir : I have the honor to inform you, that agreeable to 
your orders of the 22d instant, I proceeded on the expedition, 
to Lake Superior with the launches. I rowed night and day ; 
but having a distance of of sixty miles, against a strong cur- 
rent, information had reached the enemy at St. ^Mary's of our 
approach about two hours before I arrived at that place, car- 
ried by Indians in their light canoes ; several of whom I 
chased, and by firing on them and killing some, prevented 



no OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



their purposes ; some I captured and kept prisoners until my 
arrival, others escaped. The force under Major Holmes pre- 
vented anything like resistance at the fort, the enemy with 
their Indians carrying with them all the light valuable articles, 
peltry, clothes, &c. I proceeded across the strait of Lake 
Superior without a moment's delay ; and on my appearance, 
the enemy finding they could not get off with the vessel I was 
in quest of, set fire to her in several places, scuttled, and left 
her. I succeeded in boarding her, and by considerable exer- 
tions extinguished the flames, and secured her from sinking. I 
then stripped her and prepared for getting her down the falls. 
Adverse winds prevented my attempting the falls until the 
26th, when every possible effort was used, but I am sorry to 
say without success, to get her over in safety. The fall in 
three-quarters of a mile is forty-five feet, and the channel very 
rocky ; the current runs from twenty to thirty knots, and in 
one place there is a perpendicular leap of ten feet between 
three rocks ; here she bilged, but was brought down so rap- 
idly that we succeeded in running her on shore below the rap- 
ids before she filled, and burned her. She was a fine new 
schooner, upwards of 100 tons, called the Perseverance, and 
will be a severe loss to the North-West Company. Had I 
succeeded in getting her safe, I could have loaded her to ad- 
vantage from the enemy's storehouses. I have, however, 
brought down four captured boats loaded with Indian goods to 
a considerable amount ; the balance contained in four large and 
two small storehouses were destroyed, amounting in value 
from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars. All private prop- 
erty was, according to your orders, respected. The officers 
and men under my command behaved with great activity and 
zeal, particularly midshipman Swartwout. 

" I have the honor to be, sir, with great respect, your obe- 
dient servant, 

" Daniel Turner." 

On the return of the launches to St. Joseph's, the squadron 
proceeded to Mackinac, where it arrived on the 26th. During 



THE WAR OF lSl2, CONCLUDED. 



the time that had now elapsed since the first appearance of the 
fleet oft' hght-house point, Colonel jNIcDonall, British com- 
mander at Mackinac, had not been disinclined to make the 
most of the opportunity thus afforded him for strengthening 
his position. Everything had been put in the most perfect 
order ; weak points in the fortifications had been strengthened 
and such aid as the country afforded had been summoned to 
his assistance. Nor was this aid inconsiderable. Under the 
unfortunate circr.mstances attending the attack, more efficient 
auxiliaries could not have been found than those very savages 
who, during that brief period of delay, had gathered in large 
numbers upon the island. Batteries had been planted at vari- 
ous places on the heights which best commanded the ap- 
proaches to the island. One was situated on the height over- 
looking the old distillery, another upon the high point just 
west of the fort, and others along the ridge back of the pres- 
ent town from the fort to Robinson's Folly. Thus that officer, 
though he had but few men comparatively in command, and 
must have surrendered at once had an immediate attack been 
made upon him, was able, with the advantage he had now 
gained, to withstand a strong force. 

Various feelings agitated the inhabitants of the place as 
the squadron neared the island. Some had two years before 
parted with friends with whom they now hoped to be re-united, 
while others, who had turned traitor to the American flag, 
justly feared the gallows should the approaching expedition 
succeed in taking the fort. 

Sinclair pushed up as near to the channel between Round 
and jMackinac islands as he dared on account of the batteries 
of the enemy, and as close to the eastern extremity of Round 
Island as safety would permit, and anchored. Scarcely, how- 
ever, had the anchors reached the bottom when the English 
opened a brisk fire upon him, and though he imagined himself 
beyond the reach of harm from that source, the balls that were 
falling around him and whizzing over his head told him that 
he must take a more respectful distance or be destroyed. 



112 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



When the fleet had been removed forther away toward Bois 
Blanc, out of the reach of the enemy's guns, Croghan dis- 
joatched an officer with a number of men, and Mr. Davenport 
as guide, to Round Island, to reconnoitre the enemy's position 
and if possible find some advantageous point at which to erect 
a battery. Having landed, the party 2:)roceeded cautiously 
across the island until they came to the point nearest Mackinac 
Island, when they began their return. They had selected, as 
the most advantageous position for a battery, a point just above 
the old lime-kiln seen from this village, which is the crowning 
point of the island. No sooner, however, had the movement 
been discovered by the British than two or three hundred birch 
bark canoes, with several batteaux and other boats, were 
launched, and a large party of Indians started in pursuit. 
They were not long in gaining the island. The party, suspi- 
cious of the approach of the Indians, hastened back toward 
their boat ; but the island was just at that time covered with a 
plentiful crop of raspberries, and the men, ignorant of the 
foe, loitered somewhat, in spite of all that could be said t,o 
them. When they reached their boat, the Indians could be 
seen skulking through the woods after them, and one of their 
number, a Frenchman, who had been more heedless than the 
rest, had been captured. They now sprang into their boat, 
and, we may believe, pushed oft' with as much dispatch as 
possible ; but at a short distance from the beach, scarcely out 
of reach of the enemy's fire, the boat struck a rock which was 
just beneath the surface of the water, and swung around as 
though upon a pivot. At this the savages, who were fast 
emerging from the thickets and approaching the beach, fired 
upon them. The fire was returned, but without execution on 
either side. Fearing that the Indians upon arriving at the 
point from v.diich the}"- had embarked would be able to reach 
them, the officer ordered the soldiers to cease firing and en- 
deavor to clear the boat from the rock. This they accom- 
plished with a little exertion, and returned without further 
mishap to the fleet. 



THE WAR OF lSl2, CONCLUDED. II3 



Upon learning that one of the party sent out had been 
captured by the Indians, Sinchiir ordered a small vessel of one 
gun to pass round to the farther side of the island, that if pos- 
sible he might be re-taken. A strong wind was blowing from 
the west, against which the little bark must make her way 
through the narrow channel that separates Round andBois 
Blanc islands ; hence, the task was difficult. She had scarcely 
laid her course when the beach was thronged with savages, 
and as often as she came in reach, in beating through this 
channel, these savages poured upon her a shower of musket 
balls. This compliment was returned with much spirit, but, 
aside from the injury done the vessel, neither party suftered 
loss. 

The Indians now began their return to Mackinac with 
their victim, chanting the death-dirge. A shot was fired at 
them from the Lawrence, (anchored west of Round Island,) 
but without effect. As they rieared the island, the Indians that 
had remained came down to meet them, and the prisoner would 
have been killed and feasted upon by his inhuman captors, had 
not the British commander sent a strong guard of soldiers and 
I'escued him, the moment the canoes touched the beach. 

During the next day, as tlie Lawrence was cruising about 
the island, a thick fog suddenly came down, and enveloped all 
in obscurity. When, later in the same day, this fog lifted, her 
commander found that he was within a very short distance of 
the south-west part of the island, with scaixely any wind, and 
within range of the enemy's guns. A vigorous fire was opened 
upon him from the battery near the west end of the fort, but 
with such want of skill that he suffered no damage from it. 
He fired a single shot in return, but could not elevate his guns 
sufficiently to batter the walls of the fort. Unfavorable weather 
prevented further operations for several days. 

Col. Croghan, having now learned something of the 
strength of the enemy's fortifications, and of the number and 
spirit of the savage allies which the English had called to their 
assistance, despaired of being able to take the place by storm 



114 ^^-^ ^^'^ NEW MACKINAC. 



as he had hoped. He therefore determined to effect a landing 
and estabhsh himself on some favorable position, whence he 
might annoy the enemy by gradual and slow approaches, under 
cover of his artillery, which he knew to be superior to that of 
the foe. This he desii'ed to attempt on the south-western side 
of the island, not far from that part of the present village 
known as Shanty Town. The shore there was unobstructed, 
and the ascent to the high table land on which stands the fort 
comparatively easy ; there were no coverts near, from which 
the savages might pour upon them a deadly fire ; there was no 
thick undergrowth to be penetrated, in which might be laid the 
murderous ambuscade. If any attack should be made upon 
them on their way from the place of landing to the fort, it must 
be in an open field and with a chance for a fair fight, which 
Col. Croghan knew to be contrary to every principle of Indian 
warfare. 

But there was one objection which Sinclair urged against 
a disembarkation at this point. The positions which his ves- 
sels would be obliged to take in order to effect it, would expose 
them to the fire of the fort, while he could not elevate his guns 
sufficiently to do the enemy any injury. Hence the idea was 
abandoned, and it was decided to land on the north-west side 
of the island, where Captain Roberts had landed two 'years 
before. 

A more unfortunate movement than this could not possibly 
have been made. The island, which is about three miles in 
diameter, is mostly covered with an almost impervious growth 
of small trees. A better Indian battle-field could not be found 
than what might be selected even to-day on this island. But 
if we step back across the chasm of more than half a century, 
and view it as it was when that little fleet was hovering around 
its beach in search of a safe and convenient landing, we shall 
see a very material change in it, as a whole, and that change 
we shall find to be favorable to the purposes of savage warfare. 
We cannot suppose that the axe has lain idle for more than 
fifty years, that there has been no multiplication and enlarge- 



THE WAR OF l8l3, CONCLUDED. II5 



ment of clearings, no thinning out of dense forests, no widen- 
ing of Indian trails into wagon roads. Indeed, authentic in- 
formation, as well as reason, tells us that at that time the 
island was little less than a labyrinth. The mass of vegetation 
which everywhere covered it was intersected by foot-paths and 
occasional cart roads, but these were ill adapted to the wants 
of even a small army on the march. The clearings were small, 
and could serve only as so many slaughter pens, in which the 
American troops might be butchered by bloodthirsty and 
unprincipled barbarians, concealed in the adjacent thickets. 
Who does not see that, on such ground, every Indian was more 
than a match for the best disciplined soldier, and that the large 
number of these savage auxiliaries which the British com- 
mander had been able to collect during the absence of the fleet 
was far superior to any equal reinforcement of regular troops 
he could have received ! By thus landing at a point nearly 
opposite the fort. Col. Croghan was compelled, amidst these 
embarrassing obstacles, to traverse nearly the whole width of 
the island in order to reach the British position. It was a for- 
lorn hope. No superiority of generalship could effect against 
such obstacles ; no perfection of military discipline could coun- 
terbalance these dense thickets, swarming with fiends in human 
form. 

Col. Croghan was too well acquainted with Indian military 
ta'ctics, and also with that dastardly sj^irit of cowardice which 
for years had made the English the instigators of the most 
atrocious and bloody deeds that had ever stained the character 
of a savage, to be wholly unaware of the dangers before him. 
But, nothing daunted by these difficulties, this gallant officer 
prepared to disembark his forces, hoping to gain the clearing 
near the landing, and there fortify himself, thus compelling the 
British to attack him in his stronghold. 

On the 4tli of August the vessels of the fleet were ranged 
in line, at the distance of three hundred yards from the beach, 
and the small boats made ready to carry the devoted army to 
the island. Scarcely, however, had the work of disembark- 



Il6 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC, 



ation begun, when the adjacent thickets were observed to be 
full of savages, plumed and painted for the strife. When all 
was ready, and the word of command had been spoken, tliey 
moved toward the landing with measured dip of the oar, and 
meanwhile a brisk cannonading cleared the thickets of theii" 
lurking foes. Under cover of the guns the landing was easily 
effected, and the best possible arrangement of the troops made, 
preparatory to the marching. 

While the American squadron had been cruising about the 
island, the English had taken every precaution to secure them- 
selves against surprise. Guards had been stationed at short 
intervals around the entire island, and every road and bridle 
path intersecting the island had, with one exception, been 
effectually blockaded. The road running from the rear gate 
of the fort back to Early's (then M. Dousman's) farm was 
alone left free. As soon as it became evident that the Ameri- 
cans intended to effect a landing, the whole Indian force, with 
tlie Canadians and most of the soldiers, moved back to that 
part of the island to resist the attempt. 

After we have passed through the gate on our way to 
Early's farm-house, we see upon our left an orchard through 
which runs a little ridge, crossing the road at right angles. 
This ridge, at the time of which we write, formed the bound- 
ary line of the clearing on the east. North and west from the 
house was a swamp, since converted into a meadow. Upon 
the south and south-west the clearing was the same as now, 
only more circumscribed. The British troops were posted in 
the edge of the woods south from the road, and behind the 
elevation mentioned, while in the road, on the ridge, a battery 
was planted. To the north and south of the clearing, the 
Indians, with an occasional vagabond trader more brutal even 
than themselves, lay concealed in large numbers. 

Colonel Croghan, having quickly formed his line, had 
advanced to the edge of the clearing, or farm, when intelli- 
gence reached him that the enemy was in waiting for him, and 
ready to dispute his progress. In a few seconds after he 



THE WAR OF l8l2, CONCLUDED. II7 



received this information, a fire was opened upon him from the 
enemy's battery. He now carefully surveyed the clearing 
before him, and became convinced that the enemy's position 
was well selected, but, by a vigorous movememt, he hoped to 
outflank him and gain his rear. Accordingly, he decided to 
change his own position, which was then " two lines, the 
militia forming the front," and advance, Major Holmes' battal- 
ion of regulars on the right of the militia. This movemont 
was immediately ordered, and, to encourage his men, Major 
Holmes led them in person ; but while gallantly pi"essing on 
to the charge, a destructive fire was opened by some Indians 
concealed in a thicket near the American right, and the brave 
Major Holmes fell, mortally wounded. Captain Desha, the 
officer next in rank, also received a very severe, though not 
fatal, wound. The battalion having now lost the services of 
its most valuable officers, fell into confusion, from which the 
best exertions of its remaining officers were not able to 
recover it. 

Finding it impossible to gain the enemy's left, owing to 
the impenetrable thickness of the woods, a charge was ordered 
to be made by the regulars immediately against the front. 
This charge, though made in some confusion, served to drive 
the enemy back into the woods, whence an annoying fire was 
kept up by the Indians. Lieutenant Morgan was now ordered 
up with a light piece, to assist the left, which at this time was 
particularly galled, and the excellent service of this piece 
forced the enemy to retire to a greater distance. 

Croghan had now reached the point at which he had hoped 
to fortify himself, and thence harass the enemy at pleasure, but 
he found it by no means tenable on account of the thickets and 
ravines surrounding it. He therefore determined no longer to 
expose his troops to the fire of an enemy having every advan- 
tage which could be obtained from numbers and a knowledge 
of the position, and ordered an immediate retreat to the place 
of landing. When the troops had regained the shipping the 
fleet again moved round towards Bois Blanc and anchored. 



Il8 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



While the forces were preparing to disembark, previous 
to the engagement, Mr. Davenport had urged Major Holmes 
to exchange his uniform for a common suit, stating that the 
Indians would otherwise certainly make a mark of him, but 
Holmes replied that his uniform was made to wear, and he in- 
tended to wear it, adding that if it was his day tq fall he was 
willing. The sequel showed how unwise he was in not listen- 
ing to this advice. The party of Indians posted on the right 
were Winnebagoes from Green Bay — the most savage and 
cruel of all the British allies, and they, indeed, did make a 
mark of him. Five well-aimed bullets simultaneously entered 
his breast, and he expiretl almost instantly. Captain -Desha 
also felt the fury of these savages, but fortunately escaped with 
his life. Captain Vanhorn and Lieutenant Jackson, both brave, 
intrepid young men, also fell mortally wounded at the head of 
their respective commands. Twelve privates v^ere killed, six 
sergeants, three corporals, one musician, and twenty-eight pri- 
vates wounded, and two privates missing. 

The most shocking barbarities were practised on the bodies 
of the slain. They were literally cut to pieces by their savage 
conquerors. Our informant remembers seeing the Indians 
come to the fort after the engagement, some with a hand, some 
with a head, and some with a foot or limb, and it is officially 
stated by Sinclair, upon the testimony of two ladies, (Mrs. Da- 
venport and Mrs. John Dousman,) who were present and wit- 
nessed it, that the hearts and livers of these unfortunate men were 
taken out, and " actually cooked and feasted on — and that, too, 
in the quarters of the British officers, sanctioned by Colonel 
McDonall — by the savages." Fragments of these bodies were 
taken to the Indian graveyard west of the village and placed on 
poles over the graves, where they remained for ten days. Fortu- 
nately, however, the body of Major Holmes, which, by neglect of 
the soldiers in whose hands it had been placed, had been left on 
the field — escaped the sad fate of the others. During the 
action these men concealed the body by covering it with rails 
and leaves, so that the Indians did not find it. It had, how- 



THE WAR OF l8l3, CONCLUDED. II9 



ever, been stripped, but in this case the British commander 
acted with promptness and humanity, threatening to hang the 
perpetrators, should they be found out, if the articles taken 
were not immediately returned. This threat soon brought the 
clothes, watch, papers, etc., which had been stolen by two 
Frenchmen, into his possession, and with the body they were 
given up to the Americans. 

Thus, in loss and disgrace, ended the effort to wrest Fort 
Mackinac and the island upon which it stands from the Eng- 
glish. When the fleet first appeared off Light House Point 
there was but a single company of trooi:)S in the fort, and but 
few, if any, Indian auxiliaries upon the island, and had Colonel 
Croghan at once demanded a surrender instead of at first going 
to St. Joseph's, the post would doubtless have passed back into 
the hands of the Americans without shedding of blood, and with 
as little parley as, two years before, it had passed into the hands 
of the English. Or, had a prompt and willing surrender been 
refused, a vigorous attack must have quickly reduced the gar- 
i-ison to the necessity of yielding, as the American force was 
greatly superior to the English. But the delay was pregnant 
with disaster and disgrace. Each moment in which the enemy 
was permitted to strengthen his defences and increase his num- 
bers, diminished fearfully the chances of success. Even after 
the return, had tha landing been made at the point desired by 
Colonel Croghan, defeat might have been avoided, as under 
those circumstances the Indian allies would have been nearly 
useless ; but as it was defeat was almost a necessity. An army 
of iron men could scarcely have traversed the whole breadth of 
this island under the rapid and continuous shower of musket 
balls which would have been poured upon them, without fal- 
tering and falling into confusion. 

Having failed in the reduction of Fort Mackinac, which 
Sinclair denominated a " perfect Gibraltar," measures were 
now taken to starve it into submission, by cutting ofl' its sup- 
plies. The troops, with the exception of three companies, were 
dispatched in two vessels to join General Brown on the Ni- 



I20 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



agara, and the remainder of the squadron, a pilot having been 
now secured, directed its course to the east side of the lake, to 
break up any establishments which the enemy might have in 
that quarter. While the Americans were masters of Lake 
Erie, there were only two practicable lines of communication 
between the remote garrison of Fort Mackinac and the lower 
country. The first of these was with Montreal by way of the 
Ottawa, Lake Nippising, and French River, and the second 
with York by means of Lake Simcoe and the Nautauwasaga 
River. Having learned that the first of these communications 
was impracticable at that season of the year on account of the 
marshy state of the portages, they proceeded to the mouth of 
the Nautauwasaga, in hojDcs of finding the enemy's schooner 
Nancy, which was thought to be in that quarter. On the thir- 
teenth of August the fleet anchored oft^ the mouth of that river, 
and the troops were quickly disembarked for the purpose of 
fixing a camp on the peninsula formed by the river and the 
lake. On reconnoitering the position the schooner was discov- 
ered in the river, a few hundred yards above, under cover of a 
block-house erected on a commanding situation on the oppo- 
site shore. On the following morning a fire was opened by 
the shipping upon the block-house, but with little effect, owing 
to a thin wood which intervened and obscured the view. But 
about twelve o'clock two howitzers were landed, and, placed 
within a few hundred yards of the block-house, commenced 
throwing shells. In a few minutes one of these shells burst in 
the block-house and shortly after blew up the magazine, allow- 
ing the enemy scarcely time to make his escape. The explo- 
sion of the magazine set fire to a train which had been laid for 
the destruction of the vessel, and in a few minutes she was en- 
veloped in flames, and her valuable cargo, consisting of several 
hundred barrels of provisions, intended as a six months' supply 
for the garrison at Mackinac, was entirel}' consumed. 

Colonel Croghan did not think it advisable to fortifv and 
garrison Nautauwasaga, because the communication from York 
was so short and convenient that any force left there might be 



THE WAR OF l8l3, CONCLUDED. 



easily cut off during the winter, hence Sinchxir left the Tigress 
and Scorpion to blockade it closely until the season should be- 
come too boisterous for boat transportation, and the remainder 
of the squadron returned to Detroit. 

But this blockade, which, had it been properly enforced, 
must speedily have made a bloodless conquest of Mackinac, 
was soon brought to an end by the captui'e of both these 
schooners. 

After the destruction of the Nancy, her captain, with sev- 
eral of his men, at once repaired to Fort Alackinac to commu- 
nicate the news of the loss to Colonel McDonall and the little 
gari'ison under his command. Under the circumstances, it was 
unwelcome news indeed. Provisions were already^etting low ; 
a single loaf of bread was worth one dollar and a half, the men 
were subsisting on half rations, and had already been reduced 
to the necessity of killing several horses to ward off starvation. 
And worse than all, a long and dreary winter was near at hand, 
portending, under the circumstances, nothing but death from 
starvation. Something must be done, and accordingly an ex- 
pedition was at once fitted out by Colonel McDonall, consist- 
ing of a force of a hundred and fifty sailors and soldiers, and 
two hundred and fifty Indians, in open boats, to break the 
blockade if possible. When this party had arrived in the 
vicinity of the American vessels, the Tigress, which for several 
days had been separated from the Scorpion, was surprised and 
boarded during the night of September third, it being very dark, 
and after a desperate hand to hand struggle, in which some 
were killed and several wounded was captured. During the 
contest an attempt was made by the Americans to destroy the 
signal-book, but, unfortunately, without success, and by the aid 
of this book the Tigress, now manned by English officers and 
men, surprised and captured the Scorpion on the morning of 
the sixth, at dawn of day. This was a finishing stroke to the 
ill-fated enterprise, and Mackinac was left secure in the hands 
of the English until peace was declared. 



122 OLD AND NKW MACKINAC. 



During the following winter, 1814-15, peace was conclud- 
ed between the belligerent n^itions, and in the spring the post 
was evacuated by the English, and a company of American 
troops under Colonel Chambers, took peaceable possession. 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 1 23 



CHAPTER VIII, 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 

This island, as far back as we have any account of it, has 
been a place of great interest. It received its original name 
from the Indians. An old legend relates that a large number 
of these people were once assembled at Point St. Ignace and, 
while intently gazing at the rising of the sun, during the 
Great Manitou, or February Moon, they beheld the island 
suddenly rise up from the water, assuming its present form. 
From the point of observation, it bore a fancied resemblance 
to the back of a huge turtle, hence they gave it the name 
Moe'che'ne'mock'e'nung, which means a great turtle. This 
name, when put into a French dress, became Michilimackinac. 
From the island it passed to the adjacent points. In some 
connections in the early history, the name is applied to the 
section as a whole ; in others, to the point north of the Straits ; 
but more frequently, to that south of the Straits now known 
as Old Mackinac. The term is now obsolete, except as ap- 
plied to the county which lies immediately north of the Straits 
in which the island is included. The island has now taken 
upon itself the name of Mackinac. 

Indian mythology makes this island the home of the Giant 
Fairies, hence the Indians have always regarded it with a 
species of veneration. The day is still within the memory of 
many individuals now living on the island when the heathen 
Indians, in passing to and fro by its shores, made oflerings of 
tobacco and other articles to the tliese Great Spirits to propiti- 
ate their good will. These fairies, we are told, had a subter- 
ranean abode under the island, the entrance to which was near 



24 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the base of the hill, just below the pi^esent southern gate of the 
fort. An old Indian, Chees'a'kee or Spiritualist, who once en- 
camped within the limits of the present garrison, is i^elated to 
have visited this abode of the fairies under the following cir- 
cumstances : During the night, while wrapped in the uncon- 
sciousness of a sound slumber, one of these spirits approached 
the place where he was, laid his shadowy hand upon him and 
beckoned him to follow. In obedience to the mysterious re- 
quest, his spirit left the body and went with the fairy. To- 
gether they entered into the mystic dwelling-place of the 
spirits. Here the Cheesakee was introduced to the Great 
Spirits assembled in solemn conclave. He was lost in wonder 
and admiration at what he saw around him. The place where 
they were assembled seemed to be a very large and beautiful 
wigwam. After spending some time in the fairy abode, the 
master spirit of the assembly directed one of the lesser sjDirits 
to show the Indian out and conduct him back to his body. 
What wei-e the pi'oceedings of that assembly, the Indian could 
not be induced to tell, nor were the particulars of what he saw 
during that mysterious visit ever made known to his fellow 
red men. From their fairy abodes, these spirits issued forth at 
the twilight hour to engage " with rapid step and giddy whirl 
in their mystic dance." 

Something of the feeling of veneration which the red men 
bad for this, to them, enchanted island may be learned from the 
following soliloquy of an old Indian chief. He was just leav- 
ing the island to visit his friends in the Lake Superior country. 
The shades of night were falling around him and the deep 
blue outlines of the island were dimly shadowed forth. As he 
sat upon the deck of the steamer and watched the " lovely 
isle " fast receding from his view, memory was busy in recall- 
ing the scenes of by-gone days and the emotions of his heart 
found expression in these words : 

" Moc'che'ne'mock'e'nung, thou isle of the clear, deep-water 
lake, how soothing it is, from amidst the curling smoke of my 
opawgun (pipe), to trace thy deep blue outlines in the dis- 



MACKINAC ISLAND. I 25 



tance ; to call from memory's tablets the traditions and stories 
connected with thy sacred and mystic character. How sacred 
tlie regard with which thou hast been once clothed by our 
Indian seers of by-gone days. How pleasant in imagination 
for the mind to picture and view, as if now present, the time 
when the Great Spirit allowed a peaceful stillness to dwell' 
around thee, when only light and balmy winds were permitted 
to pass over thee, hardly ruffling the mirror surfice of the 
waters that surrounded thee ; or to hear, by evening twilight, the 
sound of the Giant Fairies as they, with rapid step and giddy 
whirl, dance their mystic dance on thy limestone battlements. 
Nothing then disturbed thy quiet and deep solitude but the 
chippcring* of birds and the rustling of the leaves of the silver- 
barked birch." But these fairy spirits have long since deserted 
their island home and gone we know not where, and the race 
of beings in whose imagination they lived has also well nigh 
passed away. 

From Father Marquette's description of the island given 
in a jDrevious chapter, we learn that it was often the chosen 
home of the savage tribes. Marquette was doubtless the first 
white man to visit it, or at least to dwell upon it. The first 
permanent white settlement on this island was made in 17S0, 
when the fort and town were removed to this point, not be- 
cause of its superiority in a commercial or military point of 
view, but for the security which it afforded against the sur- 
rounding Indian tribes. Had that one event of June 4th, 1763, 
never occurred, this island would no doubt have still been in 
the hands of nature, and the fort and town at " Old Mackinac," 
where they properly belong. 

Contrary to the treaty of 1783, the English held possession 
of the island until 1795, when they were compelled to give it 
up. The size and population of the town has varied at diflfer- 
ent stages of its history. In 1S20 it consisted " of about one 
hundred and fifty houses and some four hundred and fifty per- 
manent inhabitants." At that time there was no school, no re- 
ligious service, no attorney, and no physician (other than at the 



126 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



garrison) in the place. There were, however, courts of law, 
a post office, a jail, and one or more justices of the j^eace. At 
present, there are about eiglit hundred inhabitants, many of 
whom are engaged in fishing, and absent during a greater part 
of the summer. 

The most interesting feature of the island since the war 
of 1812 has been its connection with the fur trade carried on 
by John Jacob Astor, Esq., of New York. Previous to 1809 
an association of traders existed, called the Mackinac Com- 
pany, but at that date Mr. Astor organized the American Fur 
Company. Two years after this he bought out the Mackinac 
Company and established a new company known as the South- 
West. During the winter of 1S15 and 1816 Congress enacted a 
law that no foreigner should engage in trade with the Indians 
who did not become a citizen, and after this Mr. Astor again 
established the American Company. This company was or- 
ganized with a capital of two million dollars. It had no 
chartered right to a monopoly of the Indian trade, yet by its 
wealth and influence it virtually controlled that trade through a 
long series of years. The outposts of the company were scat- 
tered throughout the whole West and North-west. This 
island was the great central mart. The goods were brought to 
the company's storehouses at this point from New York by 
way of the lakps, and from Qiiebec and Montreal by way of 
the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing and French River, and from this 
point they were distributed to all the outposts, while from all 
the Indian countries the furs were annually brought down to 
the island by the company's agents, whence they were sent to 
New York, Qiiebec, or the various markets of the Old World. 
The traders and their clerks who went into "the countries" 
were employed by the coixipany at a salary of from four to six 
hundred dollars per year, but the engages or boatmen who 
were engaged in Canada, generally for five years, received, 
besides a yearly supply of a few coai'se articles of clothing, 
less than one hundred dollars per annum. Generally, at the 
end of five years, the poor voyageurs were in debt from fifty to 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 



127 



one hundred and fifty dollars, which they must pay before they 
could leave the country ; and the trader often took advantage 
of this, even encouraging the men to get in debt, that they 
might avoid the necessity of introducing new and inexperi- 
enced men into the country. The men were fed mainly on 
soup made of hulled corn, or sometimes of peas, with barely 
tallow enough to season it, and without salt, unless they pur- 
chased it themselves at a high price. The goods were put up 
in bales or packs of about eighty pounds each, to be can-ied 
into the countries. Upon setting out, a certain number of 
these packs were assigned to each boatman, which he must 
carry upon his back across the portages, some of which were 
fifty miles over. They performed the journeys over these 
portages by short stages, or by carrying the packs but a short 
distance at a time, thus never permitting their goods to be sep- 
arated. The route of travel to the head waters of the Missis- 
sippi was by way of Lake Huron, St. Mary's River, Lake 
Superior, and such rivers as would take them nearest the par- 
ticular points to which the various parties had been assigned. 
The valleys of the Mississippi and the Missouri were reached 
by way of Green Bay, Fox and Wisconsin rivers. The traders 
often occupied nearly the whole summer in the trip from their 
trading posts to Mackinac and back. 

Mr. Astor's pi^incipal agent on this island was Ramsey 
Crooks, to whom, with others, he sold out in 1834; but the 
trade now lacked the energy and controlling influence which 
Mr. Astor had given it, and the company soon became involved. 
In 184S the business was closed and the property sold. In its 
best days the business was one of mammoth proportions, but 
it exists now only in histor3\ 

Schoolcraft gives the following description of the state of 
society in 1820: "Society at Michilimackinac consists of so 
many diverse elements, which impart their hue to it, that it is 
not easy for a passing traveler to form any just estimate of it. 
The Indian, with his plumes and gay and easy costume, always 
imparts an oriental air to it. To this the Canadian, gay, 



128 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



thoughtless, ever bent on the present, and caring nothing for 
to-morrow, adds another phase. The trader, or interior clerk, 
who lakes his outfit of goods to the Indians, and spends eleven 
months of the year in toil, and want, and petty traffic, appears 
to dissipate his means with a sailor-like improvidence in a few 
weeks, and then returns to his forest wanderings, and boiled 
corn, pork, and wild rice again supply his wants. There is in 
these periodical resorts to the central quarters of the Fur Com- 
pany much to remind one of the old feudal manners, in which 
there is proud hospitality and a show of lordliness on the one 
side, and gay obsequiousness and cringing dependence on the 
other, at least till the annual bargains for the trade are closed." 

The elements of the present population are much the same 
as during the palmy days of the fur trade. Indians, primitive 
possessors of the " beautiful isle," are still present, and consti- 
tute no inconsidei"able portion of the inhabitants. Many of the 
old French and English voyageurs who have spent the best part 
of their lives in the employ of the fur trade, are also living upon 
the island. The population is mixed — English, French, and 
Indian blood frequently flows in the veins of the same family. 
Aside from the original population, there are several very ex- 
cellent families who have come to the place at a comparatively 
recent date. 

The town itself is a perfect curiosity. It is situated at the 
foot of the bluff', upon the brow of which stands the fort, and 
extends for the distance of about a mile around the beach. It 
contains two churches, four good hotels, capable of accommo- 
dating from thirty to two hundred guests each, seven stores, 
and four or five groceries, about one hundred dwelling houses, 
a post office, court house, and jail. Some of the buildings are 
of modern architecture, but others are antique in design 
and appearance. There are buildings yet standing, parts 
of which were brought from Old Mackinac when the 
town and fort were removed from that point, while several of 
the houses, some of which are yet occupied, wei'e standing 
during the troubled and exciting scenes of 1S12. Many of the 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 1 29 



fences are of the original palisade style. Let us make the cir- 
cuit of the town, starting from the docks. As we proceed 
along tlie beach towards the west, we see buildings of every 
description, from the most modern style down to the shanty 
with clapboards and shingles of bark. Beyond the extreme 
western limits of Shanty Town is the site of the old distillery, 
where, in 1812, the terrified and trembling inhabitants were 
gathered for safety while Captain Roberts, with his savage 
allies, should possess himself of the fort and island. Above 
this is the old Indian burying ground, where still sleep the 
mouldering dust of many a brave son of the forest. Retracing 
our steps, we turn to the left and pass through Shanty Tovvn, 
principally occupied by fishermen who are absent during most 
of the summer. The fishing grounds extend from Drummond's 
Island, near Detour, around the north shores of Huron and 
Michigan to Green Bay, including the islands in the northern 
portion of both these lakes. As we return to the town on the 
back street we notice on the right the old Catholic burying 
ground, upon which once stood the old log church brought 
from Old Mackinaw after the massacre. Farther along, upon 
the same side of the road, is an antique house with huge stone 
chimneys and dormer windows, which, during the war of iSi3, 
w^as occupied by Dr. Mitchell. Mitchell was a traitor, and 
after the return of peace had to leave the island and country 
for Canada. Adjoining the court house is the old storehouse 
of the American Fur Company, which was the place of deposit 
and point of departure for all the merchandise of that company. 
The adjacent building, now the McLeod House, was put up 
by the Company for the accommodation of the clerks when 
they came out of the Indian countries during the summer. 

Returning now to the point from which we set out, let us 
make our way towards the eastern extremity of the town. The 
large garden upon our left as we leave the business portion of 
the town, belongs to the fort. It is cultivated by the soldiers 
of the garrison, and does much towards supplying them with 
vegetables of almost every variety. Potatoes, beets, carrots, 
9 



130 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



radishes, onions, cabbage, cucumbers, etc., are produced in great 
abundance and of the best quality. Cherries, currants, strav /ber- 
ries, and other small fruits also grow plentifully in this and other 
gardens, and from one tree, standing near the fort barn, twen- 
ty-two barrels of apples were taken at a single gathering a few 
years since. In this garden is the site of the old government or 
council house, the first building ever erected upon the island. 

Adjoining the garden on the east is the old agency prop- 
erty. The house was erected about fifty years ago by the Gov- 
ernment, as a residence and office for the United States Indian 
Agent. For many years all the Indian payments were made in 
this building, which was thus made to subserve the same gen- 
eral purpose as the old government house. The other building, 
called the dormitory, now occupied by the union school of 
the place, was erected by the Government for the accom- 
modation of the Indians during their periodical visits to 
the island for the purpose of receiving their annuities, but 
never much used by them. The next building which attracts 
particular attention is the Catholic Church. This was at first a 
small log building, erected in 1833 by Father Mazzuchelli, but 
with two enlargements it has grown to its present dimensions. 
The society is now contemplating the ei^ection of a new and 
more commodious edifice. 

At the extreme eastern end of the town is the mission 
property now in possession of Mr. E. A. Franks, the house be- 
ing kept by him as a hotel. The history of this , mission is 
briefly as follows : In the month of June, in the year 1820, the 
Rev. Dr. Morse, father of the inventor of the telegraph, visited 
this island and preached the first Protestant sermon ever deliv- 
ered in this portion of the Northwest. Becoming particularly 
interested in the condition of the traders and natives, he made 
a report of his visit to the United Foreign Mission Society of 
New York, in consequence of which the Rev. W. M. Ferry, a 
graduate of Union College, was sent in 1822 to explore the 
field. In 1823 Mr. Ferry, with his wife, opened a school for 
Indian children which, before the close of the year, contained 



MACKINAC ISLAND. I3I 



twelve scholars. In 1826 the school and little church passed 
into the hands of the American Board of Commissioners for 
Foreign Missions, and as Mackinac was easy of access to the 
Indians of the lakes and the upper Mississippi, it was deter- 
mined to make it a central station at which there should be a 
large boarding school, composed of children collected from all 
the Northwestern tribes. These children were expected to re- 
main long enough to acquire a common school education, and 
a knowledge of manual labor. Shops and gardens were pro- 
vided for the lads, and the girls were trained for household 
duties. The first report of the mission made to the American 
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions was at the meet- 
ing held in New York in September, 1827. It contained the 
following facts : Nunber of teachers, eight ; Rev. William M. 
Ferry, Superintendent ; Mr. John S. Hudson, teacher and farm- 
mer ; Mr. Heydenburk and wife, Mrs. Hudson, Miss Eunice 
Osmer, Miss Elizabeth McFarland, and Miss Delia Cooke, 
teachers; there were one hundred and twelve scholars in the 
school, who had been collected from the whole region extend- 
ing from the white settlements south of the Great Lakes to 
Red River and Lake Athabasca ; thei'e had been several inter- 
esting cases of conversion ; French priests had occasionally vis- 
ited the region and opposed the mission to the extent of their 
power. 

During the winter of 1828-9 a revival influence prevailed. 
Thirty-three were added to the church and ten or twelve others 
appeared to have become penitent for sin. Instances of con- 
version occurred even in the depths of the wilderness, among 
the traders. The church now numbered fifty-two members, 
twenty-five of Indian descent and twenty-seven whites, exclu- 
sive of the mission family. The establishment continued pros- 
perous for several years. At times there were nearly two hun- 
dred pupils in the school, among whom were representatives of 
nearly all the Indian tribes to the north and west. 

Owing to the great expense of the school, the plan was 
modified in 1S33, the number of scholars being limited to fift}', 



132 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



and smaller stations commenced in the region beyond Lake 
Superior and the Mississippi. In 1834 Mr. Ferry was released 
from the mission, and in 1837, the population having so changed 
around Mackinac, and the resort of the Indians to the Island 
for purposes of trade having so nearly ceased that it was no 
longer an advantageous site for an Indian mission, the enter- 
prise was abandoned. 

The mission house was erected in 1825, and the church in 
1829-30. After the close of the mission the property passed 
into the hands of the present occupant. We cannot say how 
much or how little was accomplished by this mission ; the reve- 
lations of eternity alone will give full and reliable information 
on this point. We only know that many who would other- 
wise have been left in ignorance and heathenism are indebted 
to the Christian eflbrts of these missionaries for a knowledge 
both of the arts and sciences, and of the way of salvation. 

Having novs^ made the circurt of the town, we are ready 
for the two forts. Fort Mackinac, which stands on a rocky 
eminence just above the town, was built by the English ninety 
years ago. It is now garrisoned by a small company of United 
States troops under the command of Brevet Major Leslie Smith. 
There are six brass pieces, and arms and accouti"ements for a 
full company. The buildings are a hospital, just outside the 
wall east of the fort, a guard house, near the south gate, officers' 
quaiters, near the south-west angle of the fort, and on the hill 
near the flag-staff; quarters for the men, in the centre ; block- 
houses on the walls ; magazine, in the hollow, not far from the 
south gate ; storehouses, offices, etc. There are persons yet 
living on the island who, during the troubles of 18 14, took re- 
fuge in these selfsame block-houses. Passing out at the rear 
gate of Fort Mackinac, we cross the parade ground and see the 
spot where Captain Roberts planted his guns in i8i2, while 
his whole force of Indians was concealed in the adjacent 
thickets. 

Half or three-quarters of a mile to the rear of Fort Macki- 
nac, on the crowning point of the island, is Fort Holmes. 



MACKINAC ISLAND. 1 33 



This, as we have seen, was built soon after the British captured 
the post in 1812. Each citizen was compelled to give three 
days' work towards its construction. When finished the exca- 
vation encircling the embankment, or earthworks, was much 
broader and deeper than now, and the embankment itself was 
lined on the outside by cedar poles, reaching from the bottom 
of the ditch to its top, while a quarter or a third of the distance 
from the top of the embankment to the bottom of the ditch, 
cedar pickets interlocked with these poles, which extended out 
over the ditch like the eaves of a house, making it absolutely 
impossible for any one to get inside the fort except by the gate. 
The place of the gate is seen on the east side, 'one of the posts 
yet remaining to mark its position. In the centre of the fort 
vv^as erected a huge block-house, beneath which was the maga- 
zine. Near the gate was the entrance to several underground 
cellars, which have now caved in. The fort was defended by 
several small guns, the largest of which was an eighteen- 
pounder, placed on the point, on the opposite side of the cel- 
lars from the fort. They undertook to dig two wells, but find- 
ing no water at the depth of one hundred feet, they became 
discouraged and relinquished the attempt. 

The fort, we are told, presented a very fine appearance 
when finished. It was first named Fort George, but after the 
surrender of the island to the Americans it was called Fort 
Holmes, in memory of the lamented Major Holmes, who fell 
as before recorded. 

After the ixturn of the Americans a party of officers, wish- 
ing to see what they could do, planted a gun at the rear gate of 
Fort Mackinac and made the block-house in Fort Holmes a 
mark. They soon tore this monument of English absurdity in 
pieces, showing how ill-adapted the fort was to the purposes 
intended. The fragments of the building were afterwards re- 
moved to the foot of the hill beneath Fort Mackinac and made 
into a barn, which is yet standing. 



134 ^^^ ^'^^ NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER IX. 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. 

The natural scenery of the island of Mackinac is unsur- 
passed. Nature seems to have exhausted herself in the clustered 
objects of interest which everywhere meet the eye. The lover 
of nature may wander through the shaded glens and climb 
over the rugged rocks of this islafld for weeks, and even 
months, and never grow weary, for each day some new object 
of beauty and interest will attract his attention. As you 
approach the island it appears a perfect gem. A finer subject 
for an artist's pencil could not be found. In some places it rises 
almost perpendicularly from the very water's edge to the height 
of one hundred and fifty feet, while in others the ascent is grad- 
ual. Parts of the island are covered with a small growth of 
hardwood trees — beech, maple, ironwood, birch, etc., — while 
other parts abound in a rich variety of evergreens, among 
which spruce, arbor-vitse, ground pine, white pine, balsam, and 
juniper predominate. Hemy R. Schoolcraft, Esq., who first 
visited the island in 1820, thus speaks of it : 

" Nothing can exceed the beauty of this island. It is a 
mass of calcareous rock, rising from the bed of Lake Huron, 
and reaching an elevation of moi"e than three hundred feet 
above the water. The waters around are purity itself. Some 
of its cliffs shoot up perpendicularly, and tower in pinnacles 
like ruinous Gothic steeples. It is cavernous in some places ; 
and in these caverns the ancient Indians, like those of India, 
have placed their dead. Portions of the beach are level, and 
adapted to landing from boats and canoes. The harbor, at its 
south end, is a little gem. Vessels anchor in it and find good 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. I 35 



holding. The little, old-fashioned French town nestles around 
it in a very primitive style. The fort frowns above it, like 
another Alhambra, its white walls gleaming in the sun. The 
whole area of the island is one labyrinth of curious little glens 
and valleys. Old green fields appear, in some spots, which 
have been formerly cultivated by the Indians. In some of 
these there are circles of gathered up stones, as if the Druids 
themselves had dwelt here. The soil, though rough, is fertile, 
being the comminuted materials of broken-down limestones. 
The island was formerly covered with a dense growth of rock- 
maples, oaks, ironwood, and other hardwood species, and there 
are still parts of this ancient forest left, but all the southern 
limits of it exhibit a young growth. There are walks and 
, winding paths among its little hills, and precipices of the most 
romantic character. And whenever the visitor gets on emi- 
nences overlooking the lake, he is transported with bublime 
views of a most illimitable and magnificent water prospect. 
If the poetic muses are ever to have a new Parnassus in Amer- 
ica, they should inevitablv fix on Michilimackinac. Hygeia, 
too, should place her temple here, for it has one of the purest, 
driest, clearest, and most healthful atmospheres." 

The geological aspects of the island are curious and inter- 
esting. At its base may be seen the rocks of the Onondaga 
Salt Group, above which, says Professor Winchell, State Geol- 
ogist of Michigan, " the well characterized limestones of the 
Upper Helderberg Group, to the thickness of two hundred and 
fifty feet, exist in a confusedly brecciated condition. The indi- 
vidual fragments of the mass are angular, and seem to have 
been but little moved from their original places. It appears as 
if the whole formation had been shattered by sudden vibra- 
tions and unequal uplifts, and afterwards a thin calcareous mud 
poured over the broken mass, percolating through all the inter- 
stices, and re-cementing the fragments, 

" This is the general physical character of the mass ; but 
in many places the original lines of stratification can be traced, 
and individual layers of the formation can be seen dipping at 



136 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



various angles and in all directions, sometimes exhibiting 
abrupt flexures, and not unfrequently a complete downthrow 
of fifteen or twenty feet. These phenornena were particularly 
noticed at the clift' known as Robinson's Folly. 

" In the highest part of the island, back of Old Fort 
Holmes, the formation is much less brecciated, and exhibits an 
oolitic character, as first observed in the township of Bedford, 

in Monroe county." 

* * ***** 

" The Island of Mackinac shows the most indubitable 
evidence of the former prevalence of the water, to the height 
of two hundred and fifty feet above the present level of the 
lake ; and there has been an unbroken continuance of the same 
kind of aqueous action from that time during the gradual sub- 
sidence of the waters to their present condition. No break 
can be detected in the evidences of this action from the present 
water-line upward for thirty, fifty, or one hundred feet, and even 
up to the level of the grottoes excavated in the brecciated ma- 
terials of ' Sugar Loaf,' the level of ' Skull Cavo,' and the 
' Devil's Kitchen.' 

" While we state the fact, however, of the continuity of 
the action during all this period, it is not intended to allege 
that the water of the lakes, as such, has ever stood at the level 
of the summit of Sugar Loaf. Nor do we speak upon the 
question whether these changes have been caused by the sub- 
sidence of the lakes, or the uplift of the island and adjacent 
promontories. It is true that the facts presented bear upon 
these and other interesting questions, but we must forego anv 
discussion of them." 

In a private communication to the writer, the author of 
these extracts states that, in his opinion, there has been so7ne 
elevation of the island and adjacent regions, but more subsi- 
dence of the water. The island and neighboring promontories 
were once continuous with each other, the isolation having 
been eflected by denudation ; " much of which," says the same 
eminent author, " was probably effected during the prevalence 



MACKIN"AC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. I37 



of the continental glacial, and much during the time of floods 
following, and the action of the sea while the region was sub- 
merged." Springs of water, clear and cold, may he found at 
the base of the high clifls which bound many parts of the 
island, and also at other localities in its interior. The geology 
of the surrounding islands and promontories is much the same 
as that of this island. 

With these general ideas, descriptive and geological, we 
may now proceed to visit the various places of interest. Start- 
ing from Fort Mackinac, let us follow^ the foot-path along the 
brow of the bluff overlooking the eastern part of the town. If 
fond of natural scenery, we shall <be delighted with the grand 
panorama of nature, the successive scenes of which will be 
presented to us as we proceed. Half or three-quarters of a 
mile from the fort, at the south-eastern angle of the island, is 
the overhanging cliff known as " Robinson's Folly."* The 
following is the interesting history of this point : After the re- 
moval of the fort to the island in 17S0, Captain Robinson, who 
then commanded the post, had a summer-house built upon this 
cliff. This soon became a place of frequent resort for himself 
and his brother officers. Pipes, cigars, and wine were called 
into requisition, for at the time no hospitality or entertainment 
was complete without them, and thus many an hour which 
would otherwise have been lonely and tedious, passed pleas- 
antly away. After a few years, however, by the action of the 
elements, a portion of this cliff, with the summer-house, was 
precipitated to the base of the rock, which disastrous event gave 
rise to the name. Around the beach below is a confused mass 
of debris, the remains, doubtless, of the fall. 

A little to the north of Robinson's Folly may be seen an 
immense rock standing out boldly from the mountain's side, 
near the base of which is a very beautiful little arch known as 
the " Arch of the Giant's Stairway." This arch is well worth 
the trouble of a visit. 

* See Map of the Island. 



I3S 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



A walk along the beach northward from this point is 
somewhat difficult, on account of the large portions of the cliffs 
which have in places been precipitated to the water's edge, but 
a good foot-path along the brow of the blufi' brings us, With 
only a few minutes' walk, to the far-famed "Arch Rock." 

This is one of Nature's 
works which must be 
seen to be appreciated. 
Words cannot fully de- 
scribe it in all its grand- 
eur. It is a magnifi- 
cent natural arch span- 
ning a chasm of eighty 
or ninety feet in height, 
and forty or fifty in 
width. The summit 
of this rock is one hun- 
dred and forty-nine feet 
above the level of the 
lake. Its abutments 
are composed of cal- 
careous rock, and the 
opening underneath the 
arch has been produced 
by the falling down of 
the great masses of rock 
now to be seen upon 
Arch Rock.* the bcach below. A 

path to the right leads to the brink of the arch, whence the vis- 
itor, if sufficiently reckless, may pass to its summit, which is 
about three feet in width. Here we see twigs of cedar gi'ow- 
ing out of what appears to be solid rock, while in the rear and 
on either hand the lofty eminence is clothed with trees and 
shrubbery — maple, birch, poplar, cedar, and balsam — giving to 




* The above cut is from Professor Winchell's 
by Harper & Brothers, New York. 



Sketches of Creation," published 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. I39 



the landscape richness and variety. Before us are the majestic 
waters of Lake Huron, dotted in the distance with islands. 
We may now descend through the great chasm, " arched by 
the hand of God," and at the base of the projecting angle of 
the main rock find a second arch, less magnificent, but no less 
curious and wonderful. Passing under this, we soon reach the 
beach below, whence the view is particularly grand and impos- 
ing. The mighty arch seems suspended in mid air above us, 
and as we gaze upon it, lost in wonder and admiration, we ex- 
claim with the Psalmist, " Lord, what is man that Thou takest 
knowledge of him, or the son of man that Thou makest account 
of him !" Foster and Whitney say of this rock : " The portion 
supporting the arch on the north side, and the curve of the 
arch itself, are comparatively fragile, and cannot for a long pe- 
riod resist the action of I'ains and frosts, which, in this latitude, 
and on a rock thus constituted, produce great ravages every 
season. The arch, which on one side now connects this abut- 
ment with the main clift", will soon be destroyed, as well as the 
abutment itself, and the whole be precipitated into the lake." 

The following parody on a popular song was found writ- 
ten on a stone near the base of Arch Rock, about five years 

since : 

" Beauteous Isle! I sing of thee, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac, 
Thj lake-bound shores I love to see, 

Mackinac, mv Mackinac. 
From Arch Rock's height and shelving steep 
To western cliffs and Lover's Leap, 
Where memories of the lost one sleep, 

Mackinac, my Mackinac. 

" Thy Northern shore trod British foe, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac, 
That day saw gallant Holmes laid low, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac. 
Now Freedom's tiag above thee Maves, 
And guards the rest of fallen braves, 
Their requiem sung by Huron's waves, 
Mackinac, my Mackinac." 



140 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Taking the road which leads into the interior of the island, 
we soon ^nd ourselves at the " Sugar Loaf Rock." This rock 
is about one hundred and fifty yards from the foot of the high 
ridge, upon the south-east extremity of which stands Fort 
Holmes. The plateau upon which it stands is about one hun- 
dred and fifty feet above the level of the lake, while the sum- 
mit of the rock is two hundred and eighty-four feet above the 
lake, giving an elevation of 134 feet to the rock itself. The 
composition of this rock is the same as that of Arch Rock. Its 
shape is conical, and from its crevices grow a few vines and 

cedars. It is cavernous and 
somewhat crystalline, with 
its strata distorted in every 
conceivable direction. In 
the north side is an open- 
ing, sufiicient in its dimen- 
sions to admit several in- 
dividuals. Here one might 
^_ ^ 'Hs find shelter from the most 



violent storm. Within this 
opening, upon the smooth 
surfaces of the rock, may 
be found the autographs of 
hundreds of eager aspirants 

Sugar Loaf Rock.* ^f^.^^. immortality. As WC 

take refuge in this rock we are reminded of the Rock of Ages, 
and led to sing, with the poet, 

" Rock of Ages, cleft for me, 
Let me hide myself in thee." 

As we approach this rock along the road, the efiect is 
grand and imposing. The patriarch of the ages, it lifts its 
hoary head high up towards heaven in utter defiance of the 
fury of the elements. The view is also very fine from the top 




* The above cut is from Professor Winchell's " Sketches of Creation," published 
by Harper & Brothers, New York, 



MACKIXAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. 141 



of the ridge, whence, by its isolated position and bold form, it 
strikes the beholder with wonder and admiration. 

The " curious " are ever eager to know by what freak of 
nature this monstrous boulder has been placed in its present 
position. Has it been thrust up through the crust of the earth, 
like a needle through a garment, by some internal volcanic ac- 
tion — or has it been separated from tlie adjacent ridge and dis- 
entombed from its ancient sepulchre by a system of gradual 
denudation carried on by nature through the successive ages of 
the world's history.'' Science tells us that the latter hvpothesis 
is the true one. Foster and Whitney, in their geological re- 
port, mention the Arch and Sugar Loaf Rocks " as particular 
examples of denuding action," and state that this denuding ac 
tion, producing such an opening, (as in the Arch,) with other 
attendant phenomena, could only have operated while near the 
level of a large body of water like the great lake itself. This 
coincides with the views of Professor Winchell, whom we have 
already quoted on this point. Traces of water action now seen 
on the vertical sides of these two rocks, two hundred feet above 
the level of the water, are precisely the same as those seen upon 
the rocks close by the water's edge. To all fond of natural cu- 
riosities these two rocks alone possess attractions sufficient to 
justify a visit to the Northern lakes. 

Let us now return to the fort, whence we started, and 
again set out in a different direction. Half a mile to the rear 
of Fort Mackinac, and only a few yards to the right of tlie road 
that leads to Early's farm, is " Skull Rock," noted as the place 
where Alexander Henry was secreted by the Chippewa chief, 
Wawatam, as related in a previous chapter, after the horrid 
massacre of the British garrison at Old Mackinac. The en- 
trance to this cave is at present low and narrow, and promises 
little to reward the labors of exploration. 

Two miles west of the village and fort is Early's (formerly 
Michael Dousman's) farm. This farm consists of a section of 
land, and produces annually large quantities of hay and vege- 
tables of the best quality. Near the house now occupied by 



142 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Mr. Early is that relic of 1S12, the old Dousman house, across 
the road from which is the battle ground hallowed by the blood 
of the lamented Holmes and others. After the battle such 
fragments of the slain as had been left on the field by the In- 
dians were gathered up and burled near the east end of the lit- 
tle mound or ridge on the opposite side of the field from the 
road. 

Following the road leading through this farm, we soon arrive 
at the " British Landing," so named from the fact that Captain 
Roberts, with his mixed command of English, French, and In- 
dians, here disembarked his forces to take the j)lace in i§i2. 
It is also noted as the point where the American troops under 
Colonel Croghan effected a landing, under cover of the guns of 
the American squadron, on the eventful fourth of August, 1814, 
as alread}' described. 

Near the north-western point of the island is Scott's or 
Flinn's Cave. To find this we turn to the right a few rods this 
side of British Landing, and follow an unfrequented trail 
through the woods. A stranger should not attempt this jour- 
ney without a guide. This cave is underneath one of the huge 
rocks peculiar to Mackinac. Its entrance is extremely low, 
but when once inside the giant Goliath might stand erect. 
Those intending to visit this cave should provide themselves 
with a lamp or candle, as but an occasional ray of sunlight can 
penetrate its hidden chamber. While inside this rock-roofed 
cavern a peculiar sensation takes possession oTyou, and you are 
reminded of the scene described in the sixth chapter of Reve- 
lation, where the kings of the earth and the great men hide 
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountain, and 
say to the mountains and rocks, " Fall on us and hide us from 
the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath 
of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come, and who 
shall be able to stand?" In the vicinity of this cave are yet 
standing a fevv^ patriarchs of the forest, remnants of the heavy 
growth of timber which, at an early day, covered the island. 

Our next tramp will be around the high blufis which 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. 1 43 



bound the south-western side of the island. Leaving the town 
at its western extremity, we may follow the foot-path around 
the brow of these bluffs, or continue along the ])each, close to 
the water's edge. About a mile from the village, as we pursue 
the latter course, is the " Devil's Kitchen," a cavernous rock, 
curious, both in its formation and in its name. Near it is a 
spring of clear, cold water, shaded by evergreens and other 
trees. 

A few yards farther on is the famous " Lover's Leap." 
This rock stands out boldly from the side of the cliff', and in 
appearance is similar to the Sugar Loaf Rock. There are 
other points on the island to which romantic visitors have ap- 
plied this name, but tradition has bestowed the title only upon 
this. William M. Johnson, Esq., formerly a resident of this 
village, gives us the following legend concerning it : 

" The huge rock called the ' Lover's Leap ' is situated 
about one mile west of the village of ISLickinac. It is a high, 
perpendicular bluff"", one hundred and fffty to two hundred feet 
in height, rising boldly from the shore of the lake. A solitary 
pine tree formerly stood upon its brow, which some vandal has 
cut down. 

" Long before the pale faces profaned this island home of 
the genii, Me'che'ne'mock'e'nung'o'qua, a young Ojibway girl, 
just maturing into womanhood, often wandered there, and gazed 
from its dizzy heights and witnessed the receding canoes of the 
large war-parties of the combined bands of the Ojibwas and 
Ottawas speeding south, seeking for fame and scalps. 

" It was there she often sat, mused, and hummed the songs 
Ge'niw'e'gwon loved ; this spot was endeared to her, for it was 
there that she and Ge'niw'e'gwon first met and exchanged words 
of love, and found an affinity of souls existing between them. 
It was there that she often sat and sang the Ojibwa love song : 
' Mong-e-do-gwain, in-de-nain-dum, 
Mong-e-do-gwain, in-de-nain-dum, 
Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane, 
Wain-shung-ish-ween, neen-e-mo-shane, 
A-nee-wan-wan-san-bo-a-zode, 
A-nee-wan-wan-san-bo-a-zode.' 



/ 



144 *^^^ ^^^ NEW MACKINAC. 



" I give but one verse, which may be translated as follows : 
' A loon, I thought, was looming, 
A loon, I thought, was looming. 
Why! it is he, my lover! 
Why! it is he, my lover! 
His paddle in the waters gleaming. 
His paddle in the waters gleaming.' 

" From this bluff she often watched and listened for the re- 
turn of the war-parties, for amongst them she knew was Ge'- 
niw'e'gvvon, his head decorated with war-eagle plumes, which 
none but a brave could sport. The west wind often wafted far 
in advance the shouts of victory and death, as they shouted and 
V^ sang upon leaving Pe'quod'e'nong, (Old Mackinaw,) to make 

the traverse to the Spirit or Fairy Island. 

" One season, when the war-party returned, she could not 
distinguish his familiar and loved war-shout. Her spirit told 
her that he had gone to the spirit land of the west. It was so ; 
an enemy's arrow had pierced his breast, and after his body was 
placed leaning against a tree, his face fronting his enemies, he 
died, but ere he died he wished the mourning warriors to re- 
member him to the sweet maid of his heart. Thus he died, 
far away frome home and the friends he loved. 

" Me'che'ne'mock'e'nung'o'qua's heart hushed its beatings, 
and all the warm emotions of that heart were chilled and dead. 
The moving, living spirit of her beloved Ge'niw'e'gwon she 
witnessed continually beckoning her to follow him to the happy 
hunting grounds of spirits in the west ; he appeared to her in 
human shape, but ■^as invisible to others of his tribe. 

" One morning her body was found mangled at the foot of 
the bluff. The soul had thrown aside its covering of earth, and 
had gone to join the spirit of her beloved Ge'niw'e'gwon, to 
travel together to the land of spirits, realizing the glories and 
bliss of a future, eternal existence." 

Some little distance further on is " Chimney Rock," which 
Professor Winchell denominates one of the most remarkable 
masses of rock in this or any other ^tate. 

A footpath which leads from the beach near the base of 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED. IA.Z 



Lover's Leap to the plateau above brings us to the old Daven- 
port farm, now owned by G. S. Hubbard, of Chicago. Report 
says that several summer-houses are soon to be built on this 
farm, which will greatly enhance the beauty of the locality. 
Adjoining this farm is the Jones farm, once the property of the 
Presbyterian mission on the island. 

Having now made the circuit of the island, let us once 
more ascend to Fort Holmes, take our seats upon the high sta- 
tion built some years since by the Government engineers, and 
look around us. The island lies at our feet, and we can see al- 
most every part of it. The little clearings seen in various 
places were once gardens cultivated by American soldiers. 
That in the vicinity of Arch Rock was called the " big garden." 
In 1S12, when the English captured the island, the clearing on 
the high plateau back of the Fort Holmes was planted with 
potatoes, and when the Americans came back to take posses- 
sion of the island in the spring of 1S15 the English, not having 
cultivated it during the time, were compelled to plow it up and 
plant it, that, according to the terms of the treaty, they might 
leave everything as they found it. 

As we gaze upon the adjacent islands and main land mem- 
ory is busy with the scenes of the past. Two hundred and fifty 
years ago only bark canoes dotted the surface of the lake. A 
few years later the songs of the Canadian voyageur, as he rowed 
or paddled his large batteau, echoed and reechoed around the 
shores. Now the shrill whistle of the propeller is heard, and 
the white sails of hundreds of vessels are spread to the breezes. 
The first vessel ever seen on these waters was the Griffin, in 
1679, and the first steamer was the Walk-in-the-\Vater, in 1S19. 
It would be difficult to estimate the amount of wealth which is 
annually carried through these straits. During the season of 
navigation from ten to fifty sails may always be seen passing 
up and down through the straits, and almost every hour in the 
day from one to ten propellers are in full view. 



146 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Some four or five miles to the north-west of us lies the 
mixed Canadian and Indian settlement of Point St. Ignace. 
This was the second place settled in the State of Michigan, the 
Sault being the fii^st. At the head of East Moran Bay, some 
little distance north of the church, is the site of the mission es- 
tablished by Marquette in 1671, some remains of which may 
yet be seen. 

Farther north is the bluft' called " Rabbit Sitting." North- 
easterly the St. Martin Islands, the entrance to the Chenoux 
and the dividing ridge between this and the Sault St. Mary. 
On the north-east is Point Detour, and, though thirty miles dis- 
tant, vessels may sometimes be seen entering St. Mary's River. 
Round and Bois Blanc Islands lie to the south-east of us, be- 
yond which, at the distance of eighteen miles, is Cheboygan, 
situated at the mouth of a river of the same name. This place 
is advantageously located, and is growing rapidly. 

About seven miles south-west from this island, on the north- 
ern apex of the southern peninsula of Michigan, is Mackinaw 
City. W. M.Johnson, Esq., thus speaks of this'interesting lo- 
cality : 

" Mackinaw City, with its coasts and the islands before it, 
has been the theatre of some of the most exciting and interest- 
ing events in Indian history, previous to the arrival of the 
' white man.' It was the metropolis of a portion of the Ojibwa 
and Ottawa nations. It was there that their Congresses met, to 
adopt a policy which terminated in the conquest of the country 
south of it ; it was there that the tramping feet of thousands of 
plumed and painted warriors shook Pe'quod'e'nong — the In- 
dian name — while dancing their war dances ; it was from 
thence that the startling sound of the war yell of these thou- 
sands was wafted to the adjacent coasts and islands, making 
the peaceful welkin ring with their unearthly shouts of victory 
or death." 



MACKINAC ISLAND, CONCLUDED, 



H7 



With this glance at the surroundings of Mackinac, the fol- 
lowing table of altitudes will appropriately close the chapter. It 
is drawn from Professor Winchell's Geological Report for iS6o : 



Localities. 



Lake Huron 

Fort Mackinac 

Fort Holmes 

Robinson's Folly 

Bluff" facing Round Island 

Summit of Sugar Loaf 

Chimney Rock 

Lover' s Leap 

Top of Arch at Arch Rock 

Highest Summit of Arch Rock 

Top of Buttress facing Lake at Arch Rock. 

Principal Plateau of Mackinac Island 

Upper Plateau of Mackinac Island 

Lake Superior 



Feet Above 


Feet Above 


Lake Huron. 


the Sea. 




578 


150 


728 


318 


897 


127 


705 


H7 


725 


284 


S63 


131 


709 


145 


723 


140 


71S 


149 


727 


los 


683 


150 


728 


294 


872 


49 


627 



148 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



CHAPTER X. 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 

Mackinac as a health resort is unsurpassed. Its cool air 
and pure water, together with its natural beauties and historic 
associations, are just what are needed to bring back the glow 
of health to the faded cheek, and send the warm currents of 
life dancing through the system with youthful vigor. 

In Mackinac, you eat with a new relish, and sleep as when 
a child. You row, you ramble like boys and girls, scarcely 
able to keep your buoyancy within bounds. You need to set 
a double guard about your dignity, lest it escape you entirely. 

But it is unnecessary for us to bear testimony on this sub- 
ject, when so many more competent witnesses are at hand. 

The following letter by Dr. Mills, A. A. Surg., U. S. A., 
shows the philosophy of the health-restoring circumstances 
which surround the invalid on this island : 

Fort Mackinac, Mich., May 2, 1870. 
■Rev. Jas. A. Van Fleet : 

Dear Sir, — In complying with your request for my views 
on Mackinac as a resort for invalids, I will be as brief as pos- 
sible. I have been a resident upon the island during the pei'iod 
of nearly three years, engaged in civil and military practice, 
and therefore have had something of an opportunity for forming 
an opinion upon that subject. 

In the first place, there are two governing ideas in the 
selection of places of resort for those in ill health. If possible 
that locality should be sought which will most probably be the 
means of a permanent cure. When such a result is beyond 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 49 



hope, the present comfort of the patient stands next in import- 
ance. That phice, therefore, which aflbrds the greatest num- 
ber of health-giving and comfort-giving elements, will meet 
the wants of the largest class. But no single locality can be 
expected to meet the wants of all. No land of bliss, where 
joys are unalloyed, has as yet been discovered. There are 
certain places adapted to the wants of particular cases. In the 
selection of these, accurate knowledge and sound judgment 
should be the constant guides. The hurly-burly, hap-hazard 
manner in which people post off to some celebrated locality, 
in search of health, is an illustration of the kind of reasoning 
almost unconsciously employed by many, who upon other sub- 
jects are considered sound thinkers : the old doctrine over 
again, " What's good for one thing must be good for another." 
Hence the crowds which throng the springs and the wells, all 
undergoing the same internal and external drenchings, in the 
endeavor to cure almost as many different diseases as there are 
people on the grounds. There is undoubtedly much benefit to 
be derived from the judicious use of water. No one will deny 
that the springs of the country are the sources of many bless- 
ings. Yet many weak, debilitated, half dead men, women 
and children have had the last sparks of vitality drowned out 
of them, in the blind routine of water cure ; while others with 
good constitutions, who only needed a thorough cleansing ot 
the cutaneous surfaces, which they should have had at home, 
for decency's sake, have iieturned to the bosom of their flimilies 
rejoicing in the wonderful efficacy of the springs. I have no 
word of condemnation for the springs. I do not deny the 
medicinal qualities of many of them. But the absurdity of 
the manner in which they are resorted to, without competent 
advice, and often to the actual injury of tliose fondly seeking a 
cure, must be obvious to all. 

Mackinac is available as a place of resort for health and 
pleasui'e at pfesent only in summer ; but the time is not far 
distant when it will be as noted as a resort for invalids in win- 
ter as it is now in summer. 



ISO 



OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



Its position geographically and hydrographically is such 
as to render the temperature at all seasons of the year moderate 
and uniform. This is the first and most important in the list 
of health-restoring and health-preserving influences to be 
enumerated in connection with this place. This is the central 
fact, aroifnd which all the others arrange themselves. It is in 
the mildness and uniformity of its temperature that the superi- 
ority of Mackinac as a place of resort exists. It is this that 
causes thousands to come here annually to spend the " heated 
term." This is well shown by an examination of the follow- 
ing table : 

DEGREES OF MEAN, MONTHLY, AND EXTREME TEMPERATURE, FOR A 
SERIES OF YEARS.* 



LOCALITY. 



Mackinac Island, Mich. 

Montreal 

Albany, N. Y., 

Omaha, Neb., 

Chicago, 

Detroit, 

Philadelphia, Pa., 

Cincinnati, O., 

St. Paul, Minn., 

St. Louis, Mo., 































E 




























S 






























bjj 






























■C-o 


6 


3 

Si 




at 


0, 


i- 


4) 


>^ 


3 
bo 
3 


V 

g 
0. 




JO 

E 
> 


1 


< 


1 


-SI 
ll 


1—1 


fe 


s 


< 


S 




1— , 


< 


A 





•^ 


Q 


>^ 


>A 


W 


iq 


IS 


26 


37 


4S 


57 


6564 


55 


45 


34 


23 1 


41 


23 


90 


■4 


16 


28 


40 


=;3 


66 




59 


45 


32 


19 


42 


,3b 


102 


241 25 


,S5 


47 


60 


68 72170 


61 


49 


39 


28 


49 


23 


99 


1 19 25 


34 


52 


62 


73!76;7S 


66 


52 


36120I 


49 






24|2S 


32 


46 


5b 


63 


71 6Q 


60 


49 


3« 


29 


47 






27 27 


35 


46 


5& 


66 


70 68 


60 


48 


28 


37 


127 


24 


9.5 


.^2135 


40 


51 


59 


69 


75173 


64 
6S 


54 


44 


35 


53 


:o 


9S 


3034 


44 


5S 


61 


71 


74 73 


55 


41 


34 


L54 


17 


106 


14 iS 


31 


40 


50 


6S 


73 76 


59 


47 


32 


'7 


;45 


37 


100 


I33 


35 


44 


5S 


66 


74 


79 


77 


69 


SS 


41 


34 


iss 


25 


108 



4-t U r^ 



* Climatology of United States, by Lorin Blodget: 1S57. 

By this table it will be seen that the extremes of heat and 
cold are not only not as great in Mackinac as in other places 
east and west on the same parallel, but even in places much 
farther south. At Montreal, during the time embraced in the 
table, the mercury has been as low as 36 degrees below zero, 
and as high as 102 above. At St. Paul, on nearly the- same 
parallel, the greatest degree of cold designated is 37 degrees 
below zero, and of heat, 100 above. At St. Louis, hundreds 
of miles farther south, the table shows that the mercury has 
been as low as 25 degrees below zero, and as high as 108 
above. By looking at the figures opposite Mackinac, it will be 



•MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 15I 



seen that 33 degrees below zero is the lowest, and 90 above 
the highest mark of the mercury. During my residence here, 
however, tiae mercury has but once been as low as 19 degrees 
below zero. This was during the winter of 1S67 and 1S6S. 
During the winter of 1S6S and 1S69, 16 degrees below zero 
w^as the coldest. During the past winter 13 degrees below 
occurred but once. 

Why this diflercnce in favor of Mackinac? In my opin- 
ion it is owing principally to the influence of the large bodies 
of water which surround it ; Lake Superior on the north-west, 
Huron on the east and south, and Michigan on the south and 
west. By a well known law in physics, heat is absorbed or 
rendei-ed latent in the passage of any substance from the solid 
to the fluid and from the fluid to the gaseous states ; and con- 
versely, heat is given out or rendered sensible in the passage 
of any substance from the gaseous to the fluid, and from the 
fluid to the solid states. To illustrate : Take a single pound 
of ice. The thermometer shows its temperature to be 33 de- 
grees Fahrenheit. Now, if just enough heat be applied to this 
pound of ice to change it from the solid to the fluid state, and 
the temperature of the water thus produced is immediately 
tested, it will be found to be only 33 degrees F., the same as 
found in testing the temperature of the ice before the applica- 
tion of heat. Here has been an expenditui"e of heat in the 
process of liquefaction. By accurate measurement it has been 
found that 140 degrees of heat are necessary for this change 
from ice to water. If, again, heat is applied to this water, the 
temperature will continue to rise imtil it reaches 213 degrees, 
the ordinary boiling point of water. But all attempts to heat 
this water above tliat point will be in vain. Why.? Because 
heat is necessary for the transformation of water into steam, 
and every degree of heat which is now added will be consumed 
or rendered latent in this process. The reverse process is 
naturally attended by the o^^posite result. Hence the philos- 
ophy of the warming of buildings by steam. Wherever the 
steam comes in contact with objects sufticiently cold to reduce 



153 OLD AND XEW MACKINAC. 



it to a lower degree than 212, it immediately becomes con- 
densed into water, giving out its surplus heat. The same is 
true in the transformation of water into ice. 

In summer the evaporating surface of these lakes is very 
extensive, and the influence on the climate at Mackinac and 
places thus centrally located is, as a consequence, very great. 
The amount of water which escapes into the air as vapor, in a 
single summer day, from the surface of these lakes, would 
astonish one who has not accurate information uj)on this 
subject. 

Of a necessity the amount of heat drawn from the sur- 
rounding atmosphere will correspond. In winter, in accord- 
ance with this law, the changing of vapors into water, and 
water into ice, operates in the opposite direction, and heat is 
given out or rendered sensible. Thus these immense bodies of 
water become the regulators of the climate, both in summer 
and winter. Not only are great extremes of heat and cold 
thus prevented, but also the sudden daily changes which occur 
in many other places, to the great discomfort and injury of all, 
and especially the invalid. 

Growing out of its position and resulting temperature is 
another important item in the consideration of Mackinac as a 
health resort ; i. e.^ the purity and buoyancy of the atmos- 
phere. The amount of heat is insufficient for the extensive 
production of miasmatic, disease-generating exhalations, which 
are so destructive in warmer climates. Even if this were not 
the case, the absence of swamps and marshes, and disgusting 
cesspools, sufficiently insures atmospheric purity. The 
amount of oxygen in a given measure of air, as compared 
with that in warmer climates, accounts, in part at least, for its 
buoyant, exhilarating effects. Thus, in consequence of the 
mild, uniform temperature, the atmosphere in summer is cool 
and agreeable, free from floating poisons, and well stocked 
with life and health giving principles. 

The water, though containing considerable lime, is free 
from noxious impurities. The pebbles on the bottom of the 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT, 



'.tj 



lake can be seen when the lake is still, on a fair clay, at the 
depth of many feet. Its average temperature is about 42 de- 
grees. In fovor.ible localities, however, where it is shallow 
and the rays of the sun are direct upon it, the temperature is 
raised sufficiently for pleasant bathing. In a medical point of 
view, these lakes furnish a very important article of food — 
trout and white fish. Nothing is better calculated to meet the 
wants of overtaxed brains and nerves. 

As a summer resort it is probably unsurpassed. It is 
easily accessible by short and pleasant water routes, and the 
influences which cluster around the lovely spot arc adapted 
equally well to the treatment of the infirmities of the mind and 
body. A cheerful, hopeful state of mind is of the greatest 
importance in the treatment of disease. This once established, 
the physician can begin to feel that his efforts may be of some 
avail ; but otherwise, remedies and advice alike are useless. 

The view of the island at a distance, if approached on a 
pleasant day, either from Lake Huron or Lake Michigan, is 
highly pleasing, especially to those from the crowded city or 
the interior of the country. The valetudinarian is inclined to 
forget his maladies in his admiration of the beauty of the pic- 
ture before him. And the first impressions are not only con- 
firmed by a sojourn upon the island, but new pleasures, and 
new sources of amusement and recreation, are constantly 
springing up to engage the attention. The views which can 
easily be obtained from various points, and of which one never 
tires, are unsurpassed in beauty and loveliness. No pen can 
adequately describe them. Again, the shady walks and beau- 
tiful drives which radiate from the village to various points of 
natural and historical interest, are the somxes of much enjoy- 
ment. 

When rock, and cave, and battle-field, and other objects of 
interest, have received their share of time and attention, and a 
change is desired, the ^lackinac boats — famous for the fact 
that never was serious accident known to occur to one of them, 
when handled by Mackinac men — lie waiting near the beach 



154 <^L^ -^^^ NEW MACKINAC. 



ready for an excursion upon the lake. Round Island, Bois 
Blanc, Mackinaw City, (Old Mackinaw,) Point St. Ignace, 
and many other places of interest, are within a few hours' sail. 
Overcoat and gloves for gentlemen, and furs for ladies, should 
be the invariable companions, no matter how warm and pleas- 
ant the day, for winds are fickle and the hour of return uncer- 
tain. A basket of edibles will sometimes meet an unexpected 
demand. Gun and fishing-tackle will add to the interest of the 
occasion, especially if the trip extends into the duck and brook- 
trout regions. 

If exercise of the muscle as well as diversion of mind is 
desii'ed, and this is a healthy combination, a supply of skifis 
is ever at hand. By these a trip to the surrounding islands, or 
the noted places along the beach around Mackinac can be 
safely made in a few hours. But those who wish to make 
more extended or more rapid voyages can avail themselves of 
the small steamers which belong in this locality. Some have 
complained of the mosquitoes and black flies in their sallies to 
the main land, but it is said that the odor of carbolic acid re- 
moves this annoyance. From my experience in the use of the 
article in hospital practice, I am inclined to think this will 
accomplish the purpose. 

These are some of the favorable circumstances v/hich sui*- 
round the invalid at Mackinac. It will be seen at once that 
tliey take a wide range in their therapeutic application. I have 
great confidence in medicines timely and Judiciotisly adminis- 
tered. But in very many, especially chronic cases, I have still 
greater confidence in the efficacy of these hygienic agencies. 
It would be far from rational, however, to discard either. The 
combination of the two, in accordance with the necessities of 
each case, will be followed by the happiest results. Science 
and Practice alone are competent to decide the proportion of 
each required. 

One will now almost instinctively come to something of a 
conclusion as to the class of cases to which this place is best 
adapted. In fact the hygienic influences are so varied in char- 



MACKIXAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. . 155 



acter, so extensive in range, that there is very little liability 
to mistake. During my residence here, very few invalids 
have come under my notice who have not received more or 
less benefit before their departure. Instead, therefore, of at- 
tempting to enumerate the diseases or conditions to the treat- 
ment of which this place is favorable, it will take much less 
time to designate those to which a sojourn here is thought to 
be unfavorable. 

It is perhaps unnecessary to say that in all acute cases of 
Inflammation, the patient should remain at home until the 
crisis is passed. When the stage of debility comes on, how- 
ever, Mackinac may prove highly beneficial in promoting a 
rapid recovery. 

I would advise no one who is thought to be rapidly ap- 
proaching dissolution to think of coming here as a last resort. 
The unavoidable fatigue and exposure incident to the journey, 
will greatly overbalance all the good results to be hoped for. 
Home, quiet, peaceful home, is the place for such. 

Those in the last stages of Consumption are not usually 
benefitted. Invalids of this class seem to think the air " too 
strong" for their " weak lungs," to use their own terms. The 
somewhat increased moisture of the atmosphere, over that of 
places inland, is also supposed to act unfavorably. 

Those suffering from Asthma are in some instances ren- 
dered more comfortable, and in others less. It is impossible to 
say what the effect will be until the trial is made. 

Rheumatism is not usuall3' a severe disease here, but it is 
perhaps more frequent than any other. 

Intermittent, Remittent, and Tyjihoid Fever arc very sel- 
dom, if ever, known to originate here ; but occasionally those 
coming from miasmatic districts, upon their arrival, show 
symptoms of these disorders, in a mild form. They come 
charged with a poison and the change is the occasion of its 
working off'. This is usually soon over with, however, and no 
more fever and ague is heard of until a new stock of the ma- 
larial poison is obtained outside. This was quite forcibly illus- 



1^6 OLD AXD NEW MACKINAC. 



trated in the cases of several soldiers now stationed at this 
post. This company arrived here from New Orleans in Mav, 
1869. During the three months following there were several 
cases of Intermittent Fever. But in every instance these cases 
were easily controlled in two or three days, and relapses were 
very unusual. 

I have not seen a well marked case of Typhoid Fever on 
the island. 

In most Chronic Diseases this locality usually proves 
highly beneficial. The supporting of the vital powers is one 
great object to be aimed at in the treatment of all cases — 
especially chronic. I am not one of those, however, who, in 
their blind adoration of " Supporting Treatmetit" forget the 
specific disease, the cause perhaps of the whole difficulty, and 
neglect its treatment, when it is possible to reach it. The two 
must go hand in hand. There are general remedies which 
appl}' to almost all cases ; at the same time each case requires 
additional specific treatment according to character of the spe- 
cific disease, age, sex, temperament, and a thousand other cir- 
cumstances which go to make up the case. As the science of 
the practice of medicine advances, the great, and until recently 
quite unrecognized truth, stands forth in more glowing light ; 
that cases are to be treated and not diseases alone. The dis- 
ease is only a part, often a small part, of what goes to 
make up the case. Medication therefore, though it properly 
holds a secondary therapeutic relation as compared with gene- 
ral hygienic measures, is none the less important. Both are 
essential. 

In recommending this place to invalids, I would refer 
especially to that large class of cases which comes under the 
head of general debility. It is unnecessary to go into exten- 
sive specifications. They are at once recognized in men, 
women, and children, by a weakly, sickly appearance, low 
vital powers, feeble pulse, coated tongue, pale or sallow skin, 
want of appetite, the functions of the various organs of the 
body inadequately performed and various other unhealthy con- 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 57 



ditions. No better place can be found for sickly chlerotic girls 
and puny boys : worn out men and women, whetber sutfc-ring 
from overworked brain or muscle. No better place can be 
found for those inclined to Hypochondriacy. A change from 
the tiresome sameness of home scenes cannot fail to do good. 

Those cases of consumption which arc not far advanced 
are often greatly benefitted. 

Bowel complaints seldom prevail. Hence this is a good 
place for infants and children during the hot summer months. 

It is not necessary to continue the enumeration. I have 
attempted thus hastily to put forth some general ideas which 
might serve as guides to those of your readers who may have 
occasion to avail themselves of a resort for health or pleasure. 

I have the honor to be sir, very respectfully, your obedient 

servant, 

H. R. Mills, M. D., 

Post Sunreon. 



The following extracts are from the pen of Daniel Drake, 
M. D., who, in a professional capacity, visited the island in 
1S43. In his " Discourses on Northern Lakes and Southern 
Invalids " we find the following : 

" When the south-west winds, which have traversed the 
vast plains separating the Gulf of Mexico from the lakes, reach 
the shores of the latter, they are necessarily dry and hot. 
Hence the temperature of Buffalo, Erie, Cleveland, Sandusky, 
Toledo, Detroit, and Chicago, in the average latitude of 42°, 
is quite as great as their position should experience — greater, 
perhaps, than the traveler from Louisiana or Carolina would 
expect. But the duration of these winds is at no time very 
long, and whenever they change to any point of the compass 
north or west, they bring down a fresh and cool atmosphere to 
revive the constitutions of all whom they had wilted down. 
These breathings from the north descend from the highlands 
around Lake Superior, which are nearly as elevated above the 
sea as the mountains of Pennsylvania, and stretch oft' beyond 



158 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



the sources of the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains. In 
passing over that lake, with Michigan and Huron immediately 
south of it, the temperature of which, in summer, as we have 
already seen, is less than 60*^, these winds suffer little increase 
of heat, and become so charged with moisture from the extend- 
ed watery surface as to exert on the feelings of the people along 
the southern shores of Erie and Michigaa a most refreshing in- 
fluence. 

" From the hour that the voyager enters Lake Huron, at 
the head of St. Clair River, or Michigan, at Chicago, he ceases 
however, to feel the iteed of such breezes from the north-west, 
for the latitude which he has then attained, in connection ^vith 
the great extent of the deep waters, secures to him an invigorat- 
ing atmosphere, even while summer rages with a withering en- 
ergy in the South. The axis of each of these lakes is nearly in 
the meridian, and ever}' turn made by the wheels of his boat 
carries him further into the temperate and genial climate of 
the upper lakes. Entering it by either of the portals just men- 
tioned, he soon passes the latitude of 44°, and has then escaped 
from the region of miasmas, mosquitoes, congestive fevers, calo- 
mel, intermittants, ague cakes, liver diseases, jaundice, cholera 
morbus, dyspepsia, blue devils, and duns ! — on the whole of 
which he looks back with gay indifference, if not a feeling of 
good-natured contempt. 

" Everywhere on the shores of the lakes, from Ontario to 
Superior, if the general atmosphere be calm and clear, there is, 
in summer, a refreshing lake and land breeze : the former com- 
mencing in the forenoon, and, with a capricious temper, con- 
tinuing most of the day ; the latter setting in at night, after the 
radiation from the ground has reduced its heat below that of 
the water. These breezes are highly acceptable to the voyager 
while in the lower lake region, and by no means to be despised 
after he reaches the upper. 

" But the summer climate of the lakes is not the only 
source of benefit to invalids, for the agitation imparted by the 
by the boat on voyages of several days' duration, through waters 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 159 



which are never stagnant and sometimes rolling, will be found 
among the most efficient means of restoring health in many 
chronic diseases, especially those of a nervous character, such 
hysteria and hypochondriacism. 

" Another source of benefit is the excitement imparted by 
the voyage to the faculty of observation. At a watering-place 
all the featui'es of the surrounding scenery are soon familiarized 
to the eye, which then merely wanders over the commingled 
throngs of valetudinarians, doctors, dancers, idlers, ganiblers, 
coquettes, and dandies, whence it soon returns to inspect the 
infirmities or tedium vitce of its possessor ; but on protracted 
voyages through new and fresh regions, curiosity is stirred up 
to the highest pitch, and pleasantly gratified by the hourly un- 
folding of fresh aspects of nature — some new blending of 
land and lake ; a group of islands different from the last ; 
aquatic fields of wild rice and lilies ; a rainbow walking on the 
' face of the deep ;' a water-spout, or a shifting series of painted 
clouds seen in the kaleidoscope of heaven. 

" But the North has attractions of a different kind, which 
should draw into its summer bosom those who seek health and 
recreation in travel. From Ontario to Michigan the voyager 
passes in the midst of spots consecrated to the heart of every 
American, and deeply interesting to all who delight to study 
the history of their native land. The shores and waters of the 
lakes, so often reddened with the blood of those who fought and 
died in the cause of their country, will present to the traveler of 
warm and patriotic feelings scenes which he cannot behold 
without emotion, under which real diseases may abate, and the 
imaginary be forgotten." 

After briefly alluding to the mixed French and Indian pop- 
ulation around the head of the lakes, he thus continues : 

" But a different inhabitant, of more interest than either to 
the dyspeptic and the gourmand, is the celebrated white-fish, 
which deserves to be called by its classical name, coregonus 
albus^ which, liberally translated, signifies food of the nymphs. 
Its flesh, which in the cold and clear waters of the lake, organ- 



l6o OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 

ized and imbued with life, is liable but to this objection — that 
he who tastes it once will thencefoi'th be unable to relish that 
of any other fish. 

" The island of Mackinac is the last, and, of the whole, the 
most important summer residence to which we can direct the 
attention of the infirm and the fashionable. True, it has no 
mineral springs, but living streams of pure water, cooled down 
to the temperature of 44°, gushing from its lime-rock precipices, 
and an atmosphere never sultry or malarious, supercedes all 
necessity for nauseating solutions of iron, sulphur, and epsom 
salts. An ague, contracted below, has been known to cease 
even before the patient had set his foot on the island, as a bad 
cold evaporates under the warm sun in a voyage to Cuba. Its 
i"ocky, though not infertile, surface, presents but few decom- 
posable matters, and its summer heats are never great enough 
to convert those few into miasms. 

" Situated in the western extremity of Huron, within view 
of the straits which connect that lake with Michigan, and al- 
most in sight, if forest did not interpose, of the portals of Lake 
Superior, this celebrated island has long been, as it must con- 
tinue to be, the capital of the upper lakes. The steamboats 
which visit the rapids of the St. Mary and Green Bay, not less 
than the daily line from Buffalo to Milwaukee and Chicago, are 
found in its harbor, and the time cannot b'e remote when a 
small packet will ply regularly between it and the first. By 
these boats the luxuries of the South, brought fresh and succu- 
lent as when first gathered, are supplied every day. But the 
potatoes of this island, rivalling those of the banks of the Shan- 
non, and the white-fish and trout of the surrounding waters, 
yielding only to those of Lake Superior, render all foreign deli- 
cacies superfluous. We must caution the gourmand, however, 
against the excessive use of trout, {salmo amct/iysfes^) which 
are said to produce drowsiness ; for he who visits Mackinac 
should sleep but little, lest some scene of interest should pass 
away unobserved," 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. l6l 



The same author, in his " Diseases of the Mississippi Val- 
ley," thus alhides to Mackinac : 

*•' The three great reservoirs of clear and cold water — 
Lakes Huron, Michigan, and Superior, with the island of 
Mackinac in their hydrographical centre — oflcr a delightful hot 
weather asylum to all invalids who need an escape from crowd- 
ed cities, paludal exhalations, sultry climates, and officious med- 
ication. Lake Erie lies too far south, aud is bordered with too 
many swamps, to be included in the salutiferous group. The 
voyage. from Buffalo, Cleveland, or Sandusky, on that lake, or 
from Chicago or Milwaukee, on Lake Michigan, may afford, 
should the water be agitated, all the benefits of sea-sickness, 
without its tedious prolongation. On reaching Mackinac an 
agreeable change of climate is at once experienced, and the 
bodily feeling is heightened by the emotions which the evidence 
and consciousness of having retreated upon an island raise in 
the mind of one who has not before enjoyed the novelty of an 
insular life. To his jaded sensibilities all around hini is fresh 
and refreshing ; a feeling of security comes over him, and when, 
from the rocky battlements of Fort Mackinac, he looks down 
upon the surrounding waters, they seem a moat of defense 
against the host of annoyances from which he had sought a 
refuge. Thus the curative state of mind begins to act on his 
body from tlic moment of his landing, and if he be a person of 
intelligence and taste, this salutary mental excitement will not 
soon die away ; for the historic associations, not less than the 
scenery of this island, are well fitted to maintain it. 

" From the summit of the island the eye rests upon a num- 
ber of spots consecrated to military history. But the natural 
scenery is still better fitted to make the invalid forget his ailments. 
Several agreeable and exciting boat voyages may be made to the 
neighboring coasts, from each of which a new aspect may be 
bad, and the island itself, although but nine miles in circuit, af- 
fords opportunities for a great variety of rambling on foot. In 
these excursions he may ascend to the apex of the island, once 
the site of a fort. From this summit, elevated far above all that 



1 62 OLD AXD NEW MACKINAC. 



surrounds it, the panorama is such as would justify the epithet 
to Mackinac — Qiieen of the Isles, To the west are the indent- 
ed shores of the upper peninsula of Michigan ; to the south, 
those of the lower, presenting in the interior a distant and 
smoky line of elevated table-land ; up the straits green islets 
may be seen peeping above the waters ; directly in front of the 
harbor Round Island forms a beautiful foreground, while the 
larger, Bois Blanc, with its light-house, stretches off to the east ; 
and to the north are other islands at varying distances, which 
complete the archipelago. 

" When the observer directs his eye upon the waters more 
than the land, and the day is fair, with moderate wind, he finds 
the surface as variable in its tints as if clothed in a robe of 
changeable silk. Green and blue are the governing hues, but 
they flow into each other with such facility and frequency that 
while still contemplating a particular spot, it seems, as if by 
magic, transformed into another ; but these mid-day beauties 
vanish before those of the setting sun, when the boundless hori- 
zon of lake and land seems girt around, with a fiery zone of 
clouds, and the brilliant drapery of the skies paints itself upon 
the surface of the waters. Brief as they are beautiful, these 
evening glories, like spirits of the air, quickly pass away, and 
the gray mantle of night warns the beholder to depart for the 
village while he may yet make his way along a narrow and 
rocky path, beset with tufts of prickly juniper. Having re- 
freshed himself for an hour, he may stroll out upon the beach 
and listen to the serenade of the waters. Wave after wave will 
break at his feet over the white pebbles, and return as limpid 
as it came. Up the straits he will see the evening star dancing 
on the ruffled surface, and the loose sails of the lagging schoon- 
er flapping in the fitful land-breeze, while the milky way — 
Death's Path of the red man — will dimly appear in the 
waters before him !" 

The following extracts are just to the point, and will meet 
with a hearty response from the thousands who have experi- 
enced similar sensations in visiting Mackinac : 



MACKINAC AS A HEALTH RESORT. 1 63 

"Mackinaw, Mich., August 7, 1856. 

* * * " Yours of July 20th has been forwarded to me 
at this phace, whither I have come in search of the fugitive, 
health — at least, to escape from the debiHtatioas of out" summer 
heats. I wish you were here ! It is a fortnight to-day since we 
arrived, and such paradisiacal weather as we have had ! just 
warm enough not to be cold, and just cold enough not to be 
warm. Only one thing is wanting to me, and I should thrive 
like a green bay tree, and that is the home diet. 

" Last night we had some commotion among the elements, 
and to-day it is cloudy, and a fire is comfortable. But a few 
whiffs of this air would make your luugs give a hygienic laugh. 
I am sorry to hear there are any symptoms in your throat or 
elsewhere which give 3'ou present discomfort or forebodings, I 
am afraid of that Eastern climate for your lungs. I do not be- 
lieve that air will ever agree with you. It requires a Boreas to 
blow it, and none but a Boreas can breathe it. * * * 

*' Horace Mann." 

"Mackinaw, Mich., August 6, 1857. 

* * * u jjej-g y^Q Jill are at Mackinaw, and enjoying 
ourselves too well not to tell you about it, and to wish you were 
here with us. The climate, the air, etc., perform the promise 
made last year, and, as all the family are with me, I enjoy vastly 
more than I did last year. I never breathed such air before, 
and this must be some that was clear out of Eden, and did not 
get cursed. I sleep every night under sheet, blanket, and cov- 
erlet, and no day is too warm for smart walking and vigorous 
bowling. The children are crazy with animal spirits, and eat 
in such a way as to demonstrate the epigastric paradox that 
the quantity contained may be greater than the container. I 
verily believe if 30U would spend one summer here — say from 
about the middle of July to the middle of September — it would 
make your brain as good as Samuel Downer's brain ever was 
since it occupied its present cranium, and that is saying a great 
deal. * * * Horace Mann." 



164 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC, 



CHAPTER XI. 



MACKINAW CITY. 

The Straits of Mackinaw, as we have seen, have been the 
theatre of interesting- and exciting events from the earliest times 
down to the present. While the whole southern portion of the 
State was yet a wilderness which no white man had ever pene- 
trated, Mackinaw was the home of the missionary, the trader, 
and the soldier, and the center of a valuable and fast increasing 
traffic with the Indians of the North-west. 

And it was from Mackinaw, as a center, that colonization 
spread through the surrounding country. Detroit was settled 
in 1 701, by Cadilac, who for several years had commanded at 
Mackinaw. The history of Wisconsin and Minnesota, as well 
as other Northwestern States, must begin with a notice of this 
point, because the earliest settlers of these States started out 
from Mackinaw, and the period is yet within the memory of 
many now living on this island when Chicago came to Macki- 
naw for supplies. 

These are significant facts. The early Jesuits and traders 
fixed upon Mackinaw as a basis of their missionary and com- 
mercial operations, not by mere chance, but because of its nat- 
ural advantages. Mackinaw is a historical centre because it is 
a geographical and commercial center. Nature alone has given 
it its advantages and made it what it has been in history. For 
a series of years, however, its natural advantages seemed to be 
overlooked, and the surging wave of population rolled across 
Southern Michigan and so on to the westward. Yet it has 
never been quite forgotten, and at the present time we believe 
it to be gradually rising into favor, owing to the fact that it is 
better known and better appreciated than ever before. 



MACKINAW CITY. 165 



But we do not propose to enter into any elaborate discus- 
sion of its merits. We wish simply to set forth a few facts 
relative to an enterprise just now attracting some attention. 
Ferris, in his " States and Territories of the Great West," 
makes the following mention of the straits : " If one were to 
point out on the map of North America a site for a great cen- 
tral city in the lake region, it would be in the immediate vi- 
cinity OF THE Straits of Michilimackinac. A city so 
located would have the command of the mineral trade, the 
Jisheries^ the Jurs^ and the lu77iber of the entire North. It 
might become the metropolis of a great commercial empire. 
It would be the Venice of the lakes." In 1853 Mr. Edgar 
Conkling, then of Cincinnati, with something of the same ap- 
preciation of this point, secured a large tract of land on the 
south side of the straits. In 1S57-5S he surve3ed tl^e city 
site, but the financial revulsion at that time and the war which 
soon followed prevented further operations until the present. 
During the past winter a good dock has been constructed and 
preparations are fast being made to build up the new city. 
The streets, as surve3-ed, are eighty feet in width, and the ave- 
nues one hundred and one hundred and fifty feet, respectively, 
and are to be forever unobstructed by imi:)rovements of any 
kind, shade trees alone excepted. The lots, with the exception 
of those in fractional blocks are fifty by one hundred and fifty 
feet. Old Mackinaw Point, where may still be seen the ruins 
of the old " Fort Michilimackinac," has been reserved for a 
park. It is now in a state of nature, but in this instance nature 
has done more unassisted by art than is often accomplished by 
both combined. A richer and more beautiful variety of ever- 
greens can nowhere be found than hei^e, and " when the skill- 
ful hand of the horticulturist has marked its outlines and thread- 
ed it with avenues and footpaths, pruned its trees and carpeted 
its surface with green, it will present the very perfection of all 
that constitutes a park delightful." Suitable blocks and lots 
for county and city buildings, schooj-houses, churches, and insti- 
tutions of learning and charity, will be donated for their respect- 



1 66 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



ive purposes whenever the proper authorities are prepared tO' 
select suitable sites. There are three good harbors on the east, 
north, and west sides of tlie city, respectively. The soil is 
sandy and the land sufficiently elevated above the level of the 
water to warrant an entire absence of mud forever. " There 
are no marshes, no tide-covered sands, no flood-washed banks, 
no narrow and isolated rocks or ridges to intercept the progress 
of commercial growth and activity. On the contraiy, the lake 
rises under the heaviest rains but little, and breaks its waves on 
a dry shore raised far above its level." 

At a comparatively recent date large additions have been 
made to this property, so that now the real estate interests of 
the enterprise cover an ai-ea of alxmt thirty-five thousand acres, 
seven thousand of which lie on the north side, upon the upper pe- 
ninsula. Much of this land abounds in tlie elements of wealth 
and prosperity. There may be found peat and hard wood suit- 
able for smelting and manufacturing iron and copper ; gyp- 
sum in abundance ; "stone for water lime, building stone, and 
building lime," while all geologists agree that the salt formation 
underneath its sui-face will richly reward all who tuni their at- 
tention to the manufacture of that indispensable article. 

The policy of the proprietor of this enterprise is at once 
liberal and enlightened. Every legal measure will be taken to 
exclude forever the sale of alcohol as a beverage, thus insuring 
the future inhabitants freedom from midnight brawls and drunk- 
en i-evels. The public wants are to be liberally provided for, 
and the whole property finally devoted to the building up and 
endowment of a '•'• grand^ natio7zal^ unsectarian^ Christian 
University," and will be placed in the hands of responsible 
trustees whenever the public is ready to make the entei'prise 
its own. Such are the facts as they have been communicated 
to us. 

The idea of a university at the straits may strike some as 
premature and uncalled for, but two considerations are alone 
more than sufficient to justify an immediate advance in that di- 
rection. First, the health of this region is such as to ensure the 



MACKIXAW CITY. iSf 



highest success of such an institution. The isothermal line of 
Mackinaw is that which has proved the most favorable, both in 
Europe and America, for intellectual development. 

This all-important and only truly fundamental idea of 
health is too often forgotten in the location of institutions of 
learning, and, as a consequence, the mind is frequently devel- 
oped only at the expense of the boily. Men become intellec- 
tual giants and physical pigmies at one and the same time. 
But the invigorating atmosphere of Mackinaw City will do for 
the physical part just what a thorough university course will do 
for the mental, and thus a symmetrical and perfect development 
will be secured. The facts elucidated in the previous chapter 
will prove this. 

The health of Mackinaw is not disputed. A second fact 
we regard as equally indisputable. A few years will people 
Northern Michigan and the unoccupied territory of the North- 
west with tens of thousands, who will need just such an insti- 
tution as the one proposed. i\nd besides this " coming popu- 
lation," hundreds of the sons and daughters of our more south- 
ern and much less healthful cities and towns will be but too 
glad to resort to even-tempered Mackinaw to secure an educa- 
tion, whenever the proper facilities for that purpose are af- 
forded. 

That the public attention is already turning this way is too 
evident to need proof. The " Northern Pacific " is no longer 
a mooted question, but is actually in process of construction, 
with a fair prospect of making the straits its eastern terminus, 
while several roads from the more southern cities of this and 
other states ai"e even now hastening towards Mackinaw to 
claim a shai^e of the spoils. The day is not far in the future 
when Mackinaw will be a railroad centre, as if is by nature a 
commercial centre, and these roads will all lay their laurels at 
the feet of the new city and rising university. 

As to the prospects of ^Mackinaw City and the wealth of 
the surrounding country, which must eventually concentrate 
here, the following extracts are in point. They are from E. 



l68 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



D. Mansfield's Review of " Old Mackinaw," by Strickland, as 
published in the Methodist Quarterly Review for June, 1861 : 
" Whoever looks upon the map of North America will be 
struck with the singular conformation of both land and wate'r 
round the Straits of Mackinaw. There is scarcely anything in 
American geography more remarkable. The vast expanse of 
American lakes, flowing through more than two thousand 
miles, and covering more than one hundred thousand square 
miles of water surface, seems here to concentrate, and the three 
great lakes, Superior, Huron, and Michigan — to speak meta- 
physically — lay their heads together, as if to consider some no- 
table point. Far to the north-west of the straits stretches Lake 
Superior, with its clear waters and its pictured rocks. Far to 
the south lies Lake Michigan, with its long arm at Green Bay, 
while to the south-east stretch the dark waters of Huron, with 
its Manitou Islands and Georgian Sea. But vast as are these 
inland seas, they here meet together. Superior forms its waters 
through the Sault of St. Mary's ; Michigan rolls through the 
Straits of Mackinaw, and the magnificent Huron comes up to 
meet them. That a point so remarkable by nature should be- 
come equally so in the growth of a young and rising empire, 
seems to be a necessary inference from these facts. There are 
but few points on the earth which present such striking advan- 
tages for the pursuits of commerce. If we look upon the map 
of the globe, we shall find, perhaps, only four or five which 
have similar features. The Straits of Gibraltar, separating Eu- 
rope from Africa ; Constantinople, on the Bosphorus ; Singa- 
pore, on the Straits of Malacca ; and the Isthmus of Panama, 
are the only ones which now strike us as presenting a parallel. 
Singapore has rapidly concentrated Asiatic navigation, and 
more various people may be found there than at any ocean 
point. Panama is rising to commercial importance with equal 
rapidity, while Gibraltar and Constantinople are world-re- 
nowned for the value of their positions. Mackinaw presents 
nearly the same features. Not only do great inland seas here 
meet together, but on every side of these waters press down 



MACKINAW CITY. 1 69 



great districts of land, rich, various, and abundant in their re- 
sources. On the north lies the peninsula of Canada, which, 
although long regarded as barren and inhospitable, has been 
recently proved a country of good soil, abundant water, and 
mild climate. To the south is the peninsula of Michigan, now 
fast filling up with a thrifty American population. To the west 
is the great mining region, where copper and iron seem in- 
exhaustible. Thus nature seems to have made this place as 
rich in the materials as in the channels of commerce. Nor has 
she placed any barriers in the way of its future growth. Con- 
stantinople has its plague, and Panama its fevers ; but Macki- 
naw, grand in its scenery, and opulent in its resources, is equally 
salubrious in its climate, and inviting to the seekers for health, 
pleasure, and repose, 

* * ***** 

" Looking now to the commercial and industrial develop- 
ment of that region, we find still more extraordinary results. 
Attached to the State of ^Michigan is the peninsula, which is 
inclosed between the Straits of Mackinaw, Lake Michigan, and 
Lake Superior. For two centuries after the settlement of New 
Englanc^ and New York, the wild, unfrequented, unknown 
shores of Lake Superior were unsuspected of any other capacity 
for production than those of the forest and the lake. It is only 
since 1846 that its immense beds of iron and copper were dis- 
covered, and only within the last ten years that that region has 
exhibited a wealth of mineral production which the world can 
scarcely parallel on an equal space. No sooner were the facts 
known than copper companies (and since iron comi^anies) be- 
gan to be formed with the celerity and energy of an excited 
speculation. Capital was found in the great cities ready to be 
invested in such enterprises, Laborers flocked tWther, mines 
were opened, and now we have immense bodies of copper an- 
nually transported to Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and other 
places, to be smelted. In 1S5S the copper ore exported from 
points in the Peninsula was six thousand tons, which yielded 
four thousand tons of pure copper, worth two millions of dol- 



lyo OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



lars. When we consider that this is one-third the amount of 
copper produced hy Great Britain, and one-seventh of the 
whole amount produced out of America, we can understand 
the vakie of these mines, which have scarcely been opened ten 
years. 

" In the same region, and above the Sault of St. Mary, are 
iron mines equally extraordinary. The United States has in 
various sections immense deposits of iron. But in all the ba- 
sins of the lakes there is nothing comparable to this. In the 
vicinity of Marquette, a flourishing port of Lake Superior, iron 
hills rise from six to seven hundred feet in height, which are 
a solid mass of iron ore^ When smelted in the furnace they 
yield more than half in pure iron of a superior quality, which 
is in demand at all the manufacturing towns of the east. 

" In the meanwhile the resources of the country which 
were obvious to the eye, were naturally sought and developed 
by a different class of persons. The fisheries yielded the finest 
fish in exhaustless quantities, and from Sandusk}' Bay, in Ohio, 
to Superior City, in the wild north-west, the lake salmon and 
the Mackinaw trout are transported, like the oysters of the At- 
lantic, to gratify the epicurean palate in town and city. These 
fisheries have now risen to great importance. They are sup- 
posed to exceed in product the whole of the other fresh water 
fisheries in the United States. At this time about one hundred 
thousand barrels of fish are freighted, and the annual value of 
the fisheries amounts to a million of dollars. 

" No sooner had civilization penetrated the wilderness of 
Lake Superior than another product came into immediate de- 
mand. Far as the eye could cast its searching glance, or the 
traveler penetrate the dark forests of Michigan, of Wisconsin, 
or of Canada, there rose the tall, slim trunks, and deep green 
foliage of the pine. Here was material in which the people 
south and west were deficient. The pines of the Alleghany 
and the Susquehanna had begun to diminish. Their stock 
would soon be gone, while here stretched away hundreds and 
thousands of miles of pine forest. Very soon, as the settle- 



MACKIXAAV CITY. 



171 



ments began to increase in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minneso- 
ta, powerful steam engines were erected on the Saginaw, the 
Sable, Traverse Bay, La Crosse River, St. Peter's, and through- 
out the pine region, creating at once an immense trade in pine 
lumber. The great center of the pineries at this time is in the 
lower peninsula of Michigan, south of old Mackinaw. This 
lumber region is one of the wonders of our country, and it is 
supposed that Michigan is the greatest Jumber region of the 
world. Here are not only interminable forests of choice pine, 
but water outlets on every side. At the northern extremity are 
the Straits of Mackinaw ; at the east, Saginaw and Sable ; at 
the west is Traverse Bay, the Muskegon, and Grand River ; 
while to the south is the northern outlet of Lake Erie. On 
every side lakes and rivers are ready to transport the products 
of Michigan, which enjoys every advantage which belongs to 
the northern temperate zone. As this immense production, 
this flow inward of the growing population, this growth of in- 
dustry, goes on, there will finally arise a great commercial city 
on the straits. Before we speak of this let us glance at the 
commerce of the lakes, which has gi'own already out of this 
recent development of mines, and fisheries, and pineries. Even 
the people of the United States, accustomed to the rapid growth 
of their own country, have scarcfely been able to realize that of 
this lake commerce. 

" But a very few j^ears since scarcel}^ a single steamer pro- 
ceeded beyond Detroit, and not five years since the newspapers 
announced as an extraordinary event the annual voyage of a 
passenger vessel to the upper end of Lake Superior. Recently, 
however, the canal round the Sault of St. Mary has been com- 
pleted, and this has given a great impetus to the navigation of 
Lake Superior. Li 1854 but two steamboats and five sail ves- 
sels reached Superior City. In 1856, two years after, forty 
steamers and sixteen sail vessels reached that port. Now, hun- 
dreds of vessels navigate that lake from one extremity to the 
other. What the commerce of this great northern lake will be 
may be judged by the startling facts, that there are now six 



172 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



teen hundred vessels navigating the northwestern lakes, 
manned by thirteen thousand seamen, and trading with ports 
on five thousand miles of lake and river coasts. The exports 
and imports amount to hundreds of millions in value, and are 
still increasing at a most I'apid rate. Since the continuation of 
the canal round the Sault of St. IMary, the annual value of ex- 
ports and imports which pass thi^ough the Straits of Mackinaw 
is estimated at one hundred inillions of dollars, and this com- 
merce of the great lake will flow on till it exceeds that of the 
Caspian or the Black Sea ; till its shores shall be lined with 
cities, and the story of Marquette, and the victory of Pontiac, 
become the classic legends of marveling boyhood. With these 
facts before us, it is no surprise to find that while the imme- 
diate country round Old IMackinaw is yet a wilderness, an en- 
terprising gentleman has laid out a city on the site of ' Old 
Mackinaw.' There was one laid out years before at the upper 
end of Lake Superior, and is now a large town, growing with 
great rapidity. At the Straits of Mackinaw^ as xvell as the 
upper end of Lake Superior^ there must be large cities to 
supply the detnands of comtnerce. It Is not a matter of 
speculation^ but a necessity of nature. The same necessity 
has already created Buffalo^ Toledo., Detroit., Chicago., and 
St. Louis, The demand fo}- such towns ojz the shores of 
Lakes Huron and Superior., and especially at the Straits 
of Mackinaw., whose bay and Lake Michigan fow together., 
are obviously far greater than those which have already 
caused the groxvth of Bufalo and Chicago. They have 
grown to supply the commerce of comparatively limited dis- 
tricts. One means of testing this is to apply radial lines to 
the site of any city existent or proposed, so as to include what 
naturally belongs to them, and thus compare them with one 
another. The radial lines of New York and Philadelphia ex- 
tend across the ocean to Europe on one hand, and across the 
mountains to the Valley of the ISIlssissIppi on the other. In 
looking to this fact we are no longer surprised that New York 



MACKINAW CITY. I 73 



has its million of inhabitants, and Philadelphia its six hundred 
thousand. 

" If we look to the radial lines of Chicago, we find that 
they are limited on the south by the competition of St. Louis, 
and on the north by Milwaukee. Yet Chicago, at the southern 
end of Lake Michigan, has risen ta be a large city by a sudden 
and extraordinary growth, arising from the rich, though limited 
country about it. Apply these radial lines to ISIackinaw, and 
we find that they naturally include all of Michigan, a large 
part of Wisconsin, and a large part of Canada West ; 6zif in 
reference to water navigatioji^ no interior site in America 
is equal to that of Mackinaxv. Here concentrate the navi- 
gation of eighty thousa7id square miles of xvater surface, 
•which has no common ce7iter but that of the Straits of 
Alackifiazv. Two facts must be observed : that a commercial 
point which concentrates the trade of Lakes Superior and 
Michigan, miest lie within the circuit of their coasts ; but there 
is no such point but JMackinaiu. The other is, that the point 
of commerce which oflbrs the shortest distance, and therefore 
the cheapest, to the great markets of the Atlantic, will be pre- 
ferred. jNIackinaw is five hundred miles nearer to Buffalo 
than is Fond du Lac, and three hundred miles near than Chi- 
cago, So it is the same distance nearer to the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, or the city of New York, It is on the south side 
only, through the peninsula of Michigan, and toward the 
States of Indiana and Ohio, that the position of Mackinaw 
seems deficient in communications. But we no sooner see this 
than we sec also two great lines of railroad, progressing from 
the south through the peninsula toward Mackinaw. The one 
passes on the west side from Fort Wayne (Indiana) through 
Grand Rapids and Traverse Ba}'. The other through Lansing 
and Amboy ; both terminating on the north at ]Mackinaw, and 
both, by connection with Indiana and Ohio roads, at Cincin- 
nati on the south, thence they will soon be carried to the 
orange-growing shores of Florida, Thus may some future 
traveler be borne in a few hours from the soft air of the south- 



1 74 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



ern Atlantic to the keen breezes of the north, and bathe his 
languid limbs in the clear cold waters of Michigan. 

" Thus briefly have we followed the facts presented by 
Mr. Strickland, till we find ourselves again standing on the site 
of ' Old Mackinaw ; ' no more the siiigle, lonely spot of civil- 
ization amid red warriors and Alpine forests, but just emerg- 
ing to light amid a wonderful growth of people, of commerce, 
of industry, and art. The forests still stand, scarcely broken ; 
but the sound of the advancing host, which is to level them 
with the ground and build up the structures of civil society, 
cannot be mistaken. They come with the heavy tread and 
confused noise of an army with banners. 

" The growth of the American States, as we have said, 
is from the outer to the inner circles ; from the shores of the 
Atlantic and the Pacific, from the Bay of St. Lawrence and 
the mouths of the Hudson and the Mississippi, toward the in- 
terior. Then we had Boston, New York, Qiiebec, and New 
Orleans, long before we had Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, St. Louis, 
and Chicago, which are the second growth when the wave 
flowed over the Alleghanies. Again the wave is flowing from 
the valleys of the St. Lawrence, the Ohio, and the Mississippi, 
into the great central basin of the lakes, which, lying in the 
very center of the North American continent, are the last to 
receive, as they will ultimately concentrate, the great moving 
mass of humanity and civilization. The circles are growing 
narrower, and Mackinaw, which was the center of Indian and 
of missionary romance, will finally become one of the great 
centers of commercial growth and social progress, presenting 
the contrast between the solitudes of nature and the wild life 
of the Indian, on one hand, with the busy activity of modern 
society, its multitude of people, and the wonderful arts. 

" The steady, uninterrupted growth of our country, which 
no other nation can now interrupt, affords at once the moral evi- 
dence that what we have seen of growth and development in the 
past, will be exhibited in a progressive line through the future 
till ages have passed away. We have seen from the little set- 



CHEBOYGAN. 1 75 



tlements at Plymouth and Jamestown their gradual growth 
inward till cities arose along our coasts which rival the largest 
of ancient nations. We have seen them again extending along 
the Ohio and the Mississippi, till great towns, filled with com- 
merce and with arts, arose upon their banks. We have seen 
them enter the basin of the lakes, till Buffalo spreads itself 
along the rapids of Niagara, till Chicago looms up in a day, 
and St. Paul looks down from the far North-West. Why 
should not this movement continue ? What should interrupt 
it? We may imagine the beautiful shores of Huron and Su- 
perior alive with the chariots of commerce, and gleaming with 
the spires of beautiful towns. Here, where we have stood on 
the site of ' Old IMackinaw,' beholding its world of waters, we 
seem to see, shining in the morning sun, some metropolis of 
the lakes, some Byzantium, presiding yver the seas which lave 
its shores. Here^ perhaps, in those bright days of triumphant 
civilization, some pilgrim student may inquire for the grave of 
Marquette, may read the story of Pontiac, and lament the woes 
of that wild nation who once frequented the shores of Huron, 
and sung their last songs round the ' Pequod'e'non'ge ' of the 
Indian, the Mackinaw of the whites." 



CHEBOYGAN. 

This young and thriving town, to which the attention of 
the business and pleasure-seeking public is thus respectfully 
called, has a population of about fifteen hundred. It has four 
good hotels, ten or twelve stores and groceries, two churches 
in process of erection, a jewelry store, furniture store, black- 
smith and carriage shops, grist mill, two good shingle mills, six 
large saw mills, etc., etc. Situated at the mouth of the Che- 
boygan River, its location is one of the finest and most advan- 
tageous in the State. 

Six miles in the interior is Mullet's Lake, some twelve 
miles in length by five or six in breadth. vStill further back is 
Burt Lake, nearly as large. Other lakes of smaller dimensions 



176 OLD AND NEW MACKINAC. 



continue the chain to within five miles of Little Traverse, witli 
a depth of water in the connecting rivers sufficient for small 
steam crafts. Three miles above the town Black River pours 
into the Cheboygan from the south. This is also navigable for 
the distance of nine miles. Numerous smaller rivers empty 
into the Black, the sources of which are far in the interior, so 
that, in all, between three and four counties find a natural out- 
let through the Cheboygan River. 

About one-half of this large tract of country is covered with 
a heavy growth of pine, while the other half is as heavily tim- 
bered with beech and maple, and will make the best of farming 
lands. Cheboygan is the only natural outlet. 

These lakes and rivers abound in a great variety of fish — 
trout, pickerel, bass, etc. — and the forests upon their banks are 
filled with wild game, thus affording sportsmen the largest 
scope for enjoyment. No more desirable or satisfactory pleas- 
ure trip could be made than one up this beautiful chain of lakes 
and rivers. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



MISSION HOUSE. 



E. A. FRANKS, - Proprietor, 
MACKINAC, MICH. 



This old and favorite Hotel is most delightfully situated on the 
romantic Island of Mackinac, within a short distance of the water's 
edge, and contiguous to Arch Rock, Sugar Loaf, and other Natural 
Curiosities in which this famous island abounds. Boats to let. 

June, 1870. 



MCLEOD HOUSE. 

R. McLEOD, - Proprietor, 
MACKINAC, MICH. 



FOR SALE. 

The above-mentioned House, containing thirty sleeping rooms, 
two parlors, office, barber shop, laundry, bath room, etc., etc., fur- 
nished throughout ; also, a good horse, cow, buggy, dray, harnesses, 
and sleigh, together with the adjoining store-house, formerly head- 
quarters of the American Fur Company. Will all be sold for $6,000. 
Inquire of or address the proprietor. 

Junk, 1S70. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



ISLAND HOUSE. 



Capt. H. VAN ALLEN, Prop. 

MACKINAC, MICH. 

B. C. FREEMAN'S 

VOICE, WALTZ, AND 

QUADRILLE BAND 

HAS AGAIN RETURNED FROM CLEVELAND, 

And is pi-epared to furnish Music for Balls, Parties, and Reunions on 
short notice. Also, Shaving and Hair-Cutting done in the best style. 
June, 1870. 



H. R. MILLS, M. D., 
PHYSICIAN AND SURGEON 

MACKINAC, MICHIGAN. 

June, 1870. A. A. SURGEON, U. S. A. 



ADTERTISEMENTS. 



BROMILOW & BATES, 

MACKINAC, MICH., 

And E. E. Bromilow & Co., Chicago, III., STEAMBOAT, WHARF 
AND GENERAL STORE. 

FISHERMENS' SUPPLIES. 

Inspected Fish for sale and orders to purchase solicited. 
E. E. BROMILOW, Chicago. JOHN BATES, Mackinac. 

GEORGE W. STIMSON, 

MACKINAC CITY, MICH. 

REFRESHMENTS 

KEPT CONSTANTLY ON HAND. 

LODGING FURNISHED. HORSES TO LET. 
June, 1S70. 



MCKAY HOUSE. 



JOHN McKAY, - Proprietor, 
CHEBOYGAN, MICH. 



GOOD HORSES AND CARRIAGES TO LET. 



ADVERTISEMENTS. 



THE GRACE DORMER. 



This fast and Beautiful Steamer will form a daily freight and pas- 
senger line between Mackinac Island, Cheboj'gan, and Mackinac City. 
She will also make 

PLEASURE EXCURSIONS 

FOR WHICH SHE IS ESPECIALLY ADAPTED, 

To the Chenoux, Carp River, St. Ignace, LaCrosse Village, the inter- 
esting and historic " Old Fort Michilimackinac," and other places of 
interest or pleasure, whenever desired. 

CL OSE CONNE CTION MADE A T CHEB O TGAN 

With smaller boats running to Mullet's and Burt Lakes, etc. 

F. M. SAMMONS, 
R. PATTERSON, 
June, 1S70. Oiv?tcrs, Cheboygan, Mich. 

THE MARINE CITY. 



This fast and commodious side-wheel steamer will make 
weekly trips from 

DETROIT TO MACKINAC 

Touching at Cheboygan, Crawford's Ql'arry, Alpena, Harris- 
viLLE, Sauble, Forestville, and all intermediate Lake Shore 
Ports, and connecting at Alpena with the Metropolis for Bay City' 

and Saginaw. Special attention given to the 

« 

SAFETY AND COMFORT OF EXCURSIONISTS 

She will leave Detroit every Monday at 10 P. M., and Mackinac 
every Thursday at 7 P. M. Fare for the round trip, $12. 
.June, 1870. 



Lb D lA 



